The Why This Ride 2015 “Bestie” Awards: We Pick the Best of the Best New Models We’ve Tested! (Part One)

Voting/Arguing by James Hamel, MaryAnne & Jim Wendt, Joel Arellano, Randy Stern, Adam Fredricks, Arison Knapp and Roxy the Dog

Written by James Hamel

Everyone who works here at WhyThisRide.com is committed to bringing our readers the most unique, entertaining, well written, informative and honest experiential auto journalism available anywhere on the internet and yes even print media. Print media is the name for newspapers and magazines, you know, the piles of paper with pretty pictures that they sell at the airport candy shops.

And we aren’t like some sites that hand out awards to vehicles when our only experience or knowledge of a car is sitting in the driver seat at an auto show for three minutes twiddling the knobs on the dash and molesting the dashboard to decide if the soft touch plastic feels premium enough. No, we live with these cars most often for an entire week of our lives with a small majority having been driven at press launches and other credentialed media events.

We know that buying your next new car is a big decision and our devotion to helping you pick your next new and shiny personal transportation device is defined quite simply in the name of our website—Why This Ride? Why should you spend your hard earned cash on these cars and why are they the best in their categories? Life is too short to drive boring cars and we want any car you buy to make you fall in love with it.

But by no means take that to mean that we are Consumer Reports here because our motto is “if it’s not fun why are we doing it?” And everyone on our team is a professional best friend to each and every other person on the team. We are, to explain the name of our awards, each other’s “Besties.” And we want your next new car to be your “Bestie” too. On to the winners!

Best Subcompact Car-(2015 Honda Fit)

When this category was mentioned all anyone heard was a low guttural growling coming from Mr. Hamel who somehow over the course of the year had managed to test every subcompact for sale right now including the Toyota Yaris, Chevy Spark, Ford Fiesta, Fiat 500, Mitsubishi Mirage, Nissan Versa Note, Kia Rio, Honda Fit, Mazda2, Nissan Versa Sedan, Scion xD, Hyundai Accent, Chevy Sonic, Honda CR-Z and even a powder blue Volkswagen Beetle that only MaryAnne Wendt was brave enough to drive due to the color.

Now all of these subcompacts had positive points and some negatives to varying degrees with only the positively torturous to drive Nissan Versa Sedan proving to be utterly devoid of any redeeming quality especially considering the fact that at any speed above 55 miles per hour the passenger door started to buzz and rattle so loudly that Mr. Hamel feared the car was breaking apart. The Versa sedan is cheap to buy and it will feel cheap when you own it.

Head and shoulders above all comers, however, is the all new for 2015 Honda Fit which is lavishly equipped with high tech features for a low price, looks stylish, is peppy and fun to drive and somehow manages to be more spacious inside than the laws of physics should allow. There is simply no better choice although we must admit the last minute appearance a week ago of a 2015 Hyundai Accent proved that even this older subcompact design has plenty of life left in it as its refinement, affordability and big car feel rocketed it up to second place. Give both of them a look.

The Mazda3’s interior is as artful as the driving experience.

Best Compact Car-(2015 Mazda3)

This category is possibly one of the most competitive as it seems with each model year a new contender comes out that wipes the floor with all comers. But the current generation Mazda3 has remained our favorite two years running thanks to how fun it is to drive, the frugal nature of the SkyActiv engines as well as the availability of one of the sweetest shifting six-speed manual transmissions on Earth. Competitors of merit that deserve their sales success include the Honda Civic, Kia Forte and Soul, Chevy Cruze and re-invigorated Volkswagen Jetta what with its exemplary 1.8 liter turbocharged base motor and newly upgraded interior.

We are not huge fans of the current Nissan Sentra or the Toyota Corolla but since both are so boring to drive we aren’t quite sure if we remember testing them. It’s almost as if doing so gave us automotive lobotomies. People think the Fiat 500L looks like something that rose from a swamp but we found it to be roomy, fun to drive with its 500 Abarth 1.4 liter turbo and six-speed manual as well as one of the few testers we felt really could pull off yellow. Kind of like how Shrek pulled off green so nicely, we suppose.

Best Family Midsize Sedan-(2015 Honda Accord/2015 Chrysler 200C AWD): Tied

Just as this is a hotly contested segment of the sales market, the WhyThisRide.com staff argued for their favorite models right up until the final votes were cast. First to be voted off the island was Mr. Hamel’s beloved Mazda6 due to MaryAnne and Jim Wendt’s unending praise for the Chrysler 200 going so far as to say that if it was on sale when they bought their Cadillac CTS, there might now be a shiny 200 in their garage. Okay, Jim said that but Randy Stern definitely concurred the 200 was also his favorite family sedan.

Coming up with the alternate vehicle came down to one highly convincing argument from Joel Arellano who stated that the best-selling Accord is the only family sedan to offer such a wide array of models be it with 4-cylinder power, a V6, hybrid, plug-in hybrid as well as CVT and manual gearboxes. No one else offers you more choices than the Accord and few family sedans do it in such a stylish, well packaged and fun to drive manner. Looks like we might, however, need to have a head to head comparison test of the Accord and 200 sometime very soon to investigate this two victors further.

You see, both cars may win a “Bestie” Award today but that does not spare them from having to fight to the death in one of our blood splattered automotive comparison tests. Kind of like in “Gladiator” but without Russell Crowe furrowing his brow to cover-up for his incompetence as an actor.

Best Compact Family SUV-(2015 Honda CR-V)

The Mazda CX-5 may be a little bit sportier to drive than the CR-V but thanks to a host of updates for 2015 to its engine, infotainment system, interior and efficiency now it is Honda’s best-selling compact SUV that easily takes home the “Bestie.” With a new 2.4 liter 185 horsepower “Earth Dreams” 4-cylinder mated to a CVT automatic transmission (that somehow acts like a normal gearbox thereby sparing us from the usual gripes from Mr. Hamel about CVTs) the 2015 Honda CR-V is quick off the line and very refined at cruising speeds. There is a reason you see so many CR-Vs out on the road, they are simply the “Bestie.”

Best Three Row Family SUV-(2015 Honda Pilot Touring)

Given that resident “supermom” MaryAnne owns a lifted Chevy Tahoe to handle all of her kid hauling duties, it just seemed right that she be the one that picked the 2015 Honda Pilot Touring as her absolute favorite three row family SUV. Well, she sort of did but really her daughters Jessie and Marissa loved their time in the Pilot whether it was sitting in the back playing their Wii on the built in DVD entertainment system’s large screen or riding up to Santa Monica for one of Marissa’s acting call-backs. The Pilot handled it all with aplomb and everyone was disappointed to see the Honda go, especially the kids as they used the 6-foot ladder required for anyone under 6 feet tall to climb into the Tahoe. Just kidding. No one call child overprotective services please.

More fun than a 3-Series, not faster than a Hellcat

Best Luxury Sport Sedan-(2015 Cadillac ATS)

This was another semi-controversial category because when you mix the words “luxury” and “sport” different people think of different things. James Hamel picked the 2015 Cadillac ATS by dint of his driving experience on road and track with a six-speed manual turbo sedan that proved to be more agile, nimble and yes, “sporty” feeling than any 3-Series he has driven which in and of itself is quite the accomplishment. And since it says “luxury” on this “Bestie” Award Mr. Hamel felt it should go to a car from a premium “luxury” brand. Not all agreed with him on that last point.

You see, many new cars from mainstream automakers feel just as premium and upscale when properly equipped and sometimes even more so than with their luxury brand foes. This and the use of the word “sport” were why our resident stunt driver and contributor Adam Fredricks took umbrage at the nomination of the Cadillac and instead thought the “Bestie” should go to the 2015 Dodge Charger R/T and SRT models (the Hellcat was left-out due to it being like setting off a nuclear bomb instead of a firecracker in this market segment) because of its newly quite elegant interior, high luxury feature count, incredible performance, room and style.

We heard Adam’s convincing argument and agreed the Dodge required some sort of award if only for his tire smoking drive performance in our video review of a 2014 Charger SRT model. But in the end it was decided that luxury meant a car from a dedicated, historic luxury brand. Send all complaint letters and emails to Mr. Hamel.

Best Luxury Sedan (Perfect for Road Trips)-(2015 ½ Volvo S60)

MaryAnne and James took the 2015 ½ Volvo S60 T5 luxury sedan on a road trip to a media event and found the front seats of this very Swedish upscale sedan to be the most comfortable they had ever sat in during a long drive. That plus myriad safety features which render the driver almost unnecessary and an all-new supercharged and turbocharged 2.0 liter 240 horsepower/280 lb. feet of torque 4-cylinder feels every inch like a much larger motor. Quiet, stylish, refined and elegant as well as comfortable which all qualify as the ultimate luxuries to us.

photo courtesy of Randy Stern

Best Flagship Luxury Sedan-(2015 Mercedes AMG S63)

With cars like the Maserati Ghibli, Hyundai Genesis and lots of other high end luxury models under his belt this past year, Randy Stern still went with his time driving the 2015 Mercedes Benz AMG S63 as reason to nominate this perennial one percenter favorite as the winner of our “Bestie” Award for Flagship Luxury Sedan. Given that Randy’s road test schedule is already looking quite full this year who knows which model will win this award next year! Let us know Randy when you figure that out.

Best Compact Luxury SUV-(2015 Volvo XC60)

We loved this uniquely stylish luxury SUV because its seats are supremely comfortable, our tester feature every safety feature imaginable besides Roxy’s safety harness (which she wore proudly in the Volvo) and our Platinum Edition T6 AWD started at just over $40,000 and unlike a BMW X3 or Land Rover Evoque the price stayed there pretty much maxing out at about $43,000 with the addition of sport seats, a sport package (19-inch wheels, sport suspension, shift paddles on the steering wheel) plus more that was just icing on a very tasty and fun to drive cake.

When we tested our XC60 T6 its engine was so refined, smooth and powerful that it wasn’t until we looked up the stats for our tester that we realized it was powered by an all-new, very fuel efficient supercharged and turbocharged 2.0 liter 4-cylinder which put out 302 horsepower. So, do you see now why it won?

Best Large Luxury SUV-(2015 Acura MDX)

Although we are all dying to try out the latest Escalade, sadly none of us had tested the large luxury SUV king as of yet so we decided this would be exclusively the realm of three row luxury SUVs like whatever Mercedes and Infiniti are calling their three row SUVs today. Why either brand changed the names of so many of their vehicles to names that were more confusing is beyond us. What we do understand, however, is the 2015 Acura MDX which as an SUV is a brand name unto itself. MaryAnne absolutely loved this SUV to bits especially the huge center console which somehow swallowed her entire purse.

James also loved, as always, Acura’s easy to use navigation system and peerless ELS audio system both of which come with Tech Package equipped MDX models. Our advice? Always buy the tech package, you will get your money back if you ever decide to part with this amazingly fun to drive and utilitarian luxury SUV.

Tune in tomorrow for Part Two where we hand out awards for best sports cars, vans and the highly coveted “Bestie Dog Car” award!

Roxy the WhyThisRide.com mascot and spokesdog.