{"id":2245691,"date":"2026-11-09T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-11-08T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2245691"},"modified":"2026-11-09T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-11-08T21:00:00","slug":"top-gears-us-car-of-the-year-is-an-ev-wagon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2245691","title":{"rendered":"Top Gear’s US Car of the Year is\u2026 an EV wagon?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Forgive us this clich\u00e9, but it\u2019s true \u2013 we always start our Car of the Year roundups by asking ourselves one specific, if obvious thing: What is<\/em> a car? You\u2019d think that this would be easy to suss out by the group of supposed professional writers at Top Gear of all places, and yet, every year, it\u2019s the same question.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s partly to do with how the various segments continue to encroach onto each other\u2019s territories as they evolve with consumer demands: \u201cWe want an SUV, but not a big utility vehicle.\u201d Okay, how about a crossover? \u201cWe want a sedan that can fit three rows of people and tow a boat.\u201d Right. We\u2019ll, uh, make some phone calls. \u201cCan we have a coupe, but with four doors?\u201d Please stop emailing us.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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You see what we mean? By saving you the hassle of having to go through all of this, you may rest assured that the picks this year are indeed cars, and they\u2019re pretty good at being that<\/em> above all else. How well they do against each other is the real question.<\/p>\n

Photography: Mark Riccioni<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Nissan Sentra<\/h3>\n

The Nissan Sentra is\u2026 fine. Perhaps not exactly the praise usually heaped upon award nominees but hear us out: it\u2019s just fine to be just fine. A four-door sedan with a modest 2.0-liter I-4 engine producing 149hp and 146lb ft of torque, the affordable FWD commuter car is exactly that, with little ambition to be more, apart from throwing in a modicum of styling. How does a middle of the road car like this end up as a finalist? Because it\u2019s unapologetic about its place in the automotive diaspora and, indeed, it fills its role well.<\/p>\n

Starting at $22,600, it\u2019s affordable in a time when not much is, especially cars, and even with add-ons, the price hike isn\u2019t nosebleed-inducing. What you get for the money is a solid five-seater with creature comforts such as dual 12.3in digital displays, Apple CarPlay and Nissan\u2019s ProPILOT driver assists. There\u2019s also a suite of safety features that should get due recognition.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Giving it that little extra boost in our estimation is that it\u2019s sporty in a charming \u2018bless him, he\u2019s trying\u2019 kind of way. Nobody likes having a CVT but Nissan\u2019s tinkerers have at least tried to eke a dollop of fun out of the Sentra\u2019s by tuning it to be as aggressive as possible, paired with similarly overeager throttle mapping.<\/p>\n

The result is a simple budget four-pot that tries \u2013 loudly \u2013 to be somewhat engaging. Y\u2019know what? It kind of succeeds. What you get in return for all the ruckus isn\u2019t what you\u2019d call a completely different character, but you\u2019re able to have something of a perky drive when the Sentra turns on its meager taps.<\/p>\n

Maybe all the SR trim bits allude to a sportiness that isn\u2019t truly there. Maybe it could do without all the piping and the two-tone paint schemes. That\u2019s fine, we\u2019ll forgive it a touch of flair for its earnestness. We\u2019re also okay with the Sentra being okay. Normal cars with a little personality used to be more common, and we could do with more Sentras in that regard.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Lexus ES<\/h3>\n

Dismissive types will quickly try to diminish the Lexus ES as a \u201cfancy Camry\u201d when they couldn\u2019t be more wrong. It\u2019s actually a jacked-up Toyota Crown. Either way, the GA-K platform they all share makes for some decidedly robust daily drivers, and a good place for the luxury brand to stamp its signature opulent style.<\/p>\n

With a hybrid powertrain producing up to 244hp, smoothness is prioritized over speed, with much of that having to do with the built-in e-motors filling in gaps in the power band, along with the mile-stretching CVT transmission. That\u2019s a good 44 to 48mpg for those keeping score. On the move, the Lexus makes up for the lack of grunt with a firm, comfortable ride. Enhancing this is the prodigious application of sound-absorbing materials as well as active noise cancelation to make the cabin a pleasant place to spend your road-hours.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Indeed, the interior is where the ES puts its best foot forward. It\u2019s much tidier than its standard cohort, integrating many of the functional switches to be flush within the dash paneling, which is mostly covered with a grippy, almost sticky rubber surface. Of course, there\u2019s a big 14in touchscreen smack in the middle of it all, contrasting all the good design work, though it remains an elegant place to sit.<\/p>\n

So, we like it \u2013 it\u2019s on this list, after all \u2013 but to get to that creamy Lexus center, there\u2019s first a tough nut that needs to be cracked: the exterior. Swapping more fluid designs for the same jutting techno-prow as worn by the RX and others, the elegance that once distinguished the ES from the Toyotas is now missing. The maddening part? The Crown does\u00a0<\/em>have all the curves in the right places. Somebody get Akio on the phone, we think there\u2019s a Freaky Friday<\/em> situation going on down at the factory.<\/p>\n

Winner: Subaru Trailseeker<\/h3>\n

People still carry a torch for the WRX and its many rally-inspired incarnations, but the heart of Subaru fandom is its dutiful, rugged, useful wagon \u2013 the Trailseeker.<\/p>\n

Oh, you thought we were going to say the Outback? That was<\/em> true, until the Trailseeker out-wagoned it. Sure, the new Outback is pretty handy for woodland outings with your dog, Flannel, but it\u2019s more SUV than plucky wagon nowadays. Enter the Trailseeker that\u2019s quite the opposite. On top of that, it\u2019s an EV, so trips into the outskirts are battery-powered, and that\u2019s closer to Subie\u2019s crunchy ethos than a boxer-four.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Two electric motors power the AWD Trailseeker, providing 375hp while a 74.4kWh battery offers up between 274 and 281 miles of range for you to play with on or off the road. Either way, you\u2019ll have the advantage of Subaru\u2019s nagging but thoughtful eyesight safety system keeping you keyed into what you\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n

Off the beaten path, the set-and-forget X-mode figures out all the tricky terrain stuff as you trundle through the bush. With about 8.5in of ground clearance, it\u2019s got the ability to scale all but the scariest\u00a0obstacles in your path.<\/p>\n

Back in civilization, the Trailseeker is quick, balanced and even keeled, though we wouldn\u2019t mind if some of that WRX DNA slipped into the mix. It\u2019s far from perfect, mainly because the interior feels designed by someone with an acute phobia of gauge clusters, but overall, the pros far outshine the cons.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Forgive us this clich\u00e9, but it\u2019s true \u2013 we always start our Car of the Year roundups by asking ourselves one specific, if obvious thing: What is a car? You\u2019d think that this would be easy to suss out by the group of supposed professional writers at Top Gear of all places, and yet, every […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,237],"class_list":["post-2245691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-topgear-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2245691","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2245691"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2245691\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2245691"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2245691"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2245691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}