Payne: Here is the 2023 Detroit News Vehicle of the Year

Posted by Talbot Payne on December 14, 2023

I tested over 60 new cars this year. The most common question I’m asked: which was the best?

The 2024 McLaren Artura, no doubt.

If I were to take you for a ride, you’d be talking about it for the rest of the week (maybe longer, judging by my friends). Scissor doors, body like Megan Fox, carbon-fiber chassis that grips like black on asphalt, twin-turbo engine from the gods. But at $289,175, most of us would have to sell our house to afford it.

So the “Best Car I’ve Driven” and “The Detroit News Vehicle of the Year” are often two different things. Our focus is on cars that possess affordability (only vehicles under $100,000 are eligible), utility, fun, personality — and that secret sauce that makes them special. Past winners include gems like the Chevy Corvette C8, Chrysler Pacifica, Ford Maverick and Tesla Model 3.

In 2023, automotive fashion was clear: the industry (with a shove from the government) is going all-electric and (not coincidentally) vehicles are getting really expensive. I’ve tested plenty of worthy EVs, from the handsome Hyundai Ioniq 6 to the efficient Chevy Silverado EV Work Truck. But EVs are a niche product (at least until gas cars are banned), and customers have never had such a cornucopia of gas, diesel, EV and hybrid choices. There are midsize pickup trucks like the Toyota Tacoma and Chevy Colorado/GMC Canyon twins, hybrid sedans like the Honda Accord and ugly-duckling-turned-swan Toyota Prius, and impressive SUV debuts from the Dodge Hornet and Mazda CX-90.

The mid-engine, 2020 Chevy Corvette C8 is not quite as nimble as the 2021 Porsche 911 Targa — but the ’Vette has a superior interior, is quicker 0-60, and is less than half the price.The mid-engine, 2020 Chevy Corvette C8 is not quite as nimble as the 2021 Porsche 911 Targa — but the ’Vette has a superior interior, is quicker 0-60, and is less than half the price.

Oh, man, I could fill a shopping cart in a hurry. But we narrowed the choices to three finalists: Chevy Trax/Buick Envista, Ford Mustang and Subaru Impreza. The envelope, please:

Third place: Chevy Trax/Buick Envista

The Chevrolet brand’s halo Corvette wowed this year with the sensational Z06 and all-wheel-drive E-Ray variants that, for $110K, are the performance equal of the McLaren but for, ahem, less than half the price. Value is at the core of Chevy’s DNA, whether supercars or compact cars, and the all-new Trax SUV came at just the right time.

The 2024 Chevy Trax is all-new with a bigger, tighter chassis, cool Activ model and peppy 1.3-liter three-banger.The 2024 Chevy Trax is all-new with a bigger, tighter chassis, cool Activ model and peppy 1.3-liter three-banger.

Auto prices have accelerated beyond the reach of working-class Americans with the average new price at $48K — nearly 30% higher than five years ago, according to Cox Automotive. Most concerning is the lack of entry-level, $20K chariots — much less sub-$20k vehicles, which have virtually ceased to exist.

One of my favorite entry-level SUVs, the frisky Jeep Renegade, debuted at $19K in 2015 and is bowing out with a sticker price at over $28K! Ouch.

Happily, Trax bucked the trend with a stylish ute that is easy on the wallet yet better than the first-gen Trax in every way: more performance, more rear leg room, more digital screens, more wireless smartphone goodies.

I took a base, $21K Trax up the Chimney Rock hill climb in North Carolina 50 years after my father set the course record there in a Porsche 904. The American may not have the German’s speed, but it has amenities the sportscar could only dream about. Wireless Android Auto guided me to Chimney Rock while a wireless pad charged the phone. And though it won’t set any track records, the well-engineered Trax is still fun to drive while carrying four people in its roomy cabin.

The 2024 Buick Envista takes its design cues from the Wildcat coupe concept.The 2024 Buick Envista takes its design cues from the Wildcat coupe concept.

If you have a few more dollars in your pocket, Buick offers its $28K Envista on the same platform as Trax but with the styling of a luxury vehicle costing twice that. At a staggering $15K less than a comparable BMW X1, Envista is a steal.

Runner-up: Subaru Impreza

“What car should my kid get?” is another common question I hear. The Impreza is one of my perennial recommendations with its affordable, sub-$25K sticker price, standard all-wheel-drive and low-center-of-gravity Boxer engine. Yeah, yeah, SUVs are all the rage — and the Impreza has a Crosstrek SUV twin — but the hatchback Impreza is not only cheaper but has better handling for when, say, your kid suddenly finds themselves on an icy road.

For 2024 the Subaru Impreza is only available in a hatchback - but still comes with standard AWD and affordable, sub-$24k sticker price.For 2024 the Subaru Impreza is only available in a hatchback - but still comes with standard AWD and affordable, sub-$24k sticker price.

For 2024, that hatchback utility now comes standard to complement Subie’s signature AWD. The Trax/Envista’s one shortcoming is the lack of an AWD option for Michigan’s wintry climate (the Payne family speaks from experience, where Imprezas made it up our hilly driveway when our front/rear-wheel-drive cars have struggled).

Like its fellow Boxer-engine mate, Porsche, Subaru makes evolutionary changes from generation to generation, but the sixth-gen car makes an important leap: a huge, 11.6-inch Tesla-like console screen now anchors the console, putting infotainment, climate and feature settings at your fingertips. This is a thoroughly modern Subie with Android Auto/Apple CarPlay for just $24,085.

Winner: Ford Mustang

I’m a fan of EVs, but there is a sameness to their quiet motors and slippery shapes that maximize battery range.

No one will confuse the boisterous 2024 Ford Mustang for anything else.

Shot out of a barrel. The 2024 Ford Mustang GT should reach 60 mph in under 4 seconds thanks to 415 pound feet of torque from its big V-8.Shot out of a barrel. The 2024 Ford Mustang GT should reach 60 mph in under 4 seconds thanks to 415 pound feet of torque from its big V-8.

This American icon is all-new for its seventh generation with a 5.0-liter V-8 engine that you can hear coming from Kansas. WAUUUUURGH! I am just as bullish on the pony’s standard turbo-4 engine which — despite half the cylinders — still exhibits a lovely growl, and the ‘Stang with that powerplant is more tossable in the twisties thanks to its lighter weight.

While Mustang’s Dodge Challenger and Chevy Camaro classmates bowed out this year under assault from the emissions nannies, Ford shrewdly kept its pony car in production as part of a larger-brand electrification strategy. The badass engines are complemented by a badass design that is modern while evoking the coupe’s classic, 1960s, coke-bottle shape. But the real revelation here is the modern interior with twin digital screens designed by game-maker Unreal Engine. The graphics are unreal.

Mustang is one of the most accessible sports cars in the world thanks to not just to its sticker price, but to its ubiquitous presence in rental fleets. So run, don’t walk, to the Hertz Mustang aisle to experience it.

The 2024 Ford Mustang looks like a BMW 3-series inside - though the screen gives off more glare.The 2024 Ford Mustang looks like a BMW 3-series inside - though the screen gives off more glare.

If Mustang is a breath of fresh air in these conformist EV times, its sticker price is not the bargain it used to be. The base price soars over $30K to $32,515 — a whopping $3,370 over the last gen. Want the Dark Horse performance model and its wailing, eat-your-heart-out-EVs, 166-mph-top-speed, 500-horsepower V-8? You’ll have to pay Corvette money at over 60 grand.

Ouch. It’s the price we pay for Mustang’s secret sauce. Long live the V-8.

Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.

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