Gallery: 10 Cars We Love, But Shouldn't
01porsche-panamera-hybrid-s
__Porsche Panamera Hybrid__ Yeah, yeah. We know. It isn't bad enough that Porsche built a sedan. No, it had to go and make a *hybrid* sedan. The hive mind maintains that the Panamera is the biggest affront to good taste and Porsche values since the Cayenne. The hive mind can get stuffed. Like its SUV brethren, the Panamera is one of the most engaging drives on the planet. When Porsche sets its mind to something, it does it right and the best automotive engineers in the world do not disappoint (even if the stylists did). The Panamera Hybrid can hum along on electric power at more than 50 mph, the chassis is exceptional and the level of comfort is off the hook. When you need to haul four people and all their stuff over the Alps, this is the car for it.
Hexy was designed for DIY DFM.02nissan-juke
__Nissan Juke__ It's a freak. An organic, insectine mini-SUV brimming with personality and coated in compromise. But it delivers something no other cute-utes can: fun. The steering is a perfect combination of light weight and connected feel. The turbocharged 1.6-liter engine needs to be wrung out like a wet sponge and the CVT is the bane of performance-minded drivers, but once the Juke gets its momentum up, it's the only ultra-compact crossover that's as fun to drive as it is to look at. And if you give Nissan a little more than half a million bucks, it'll [shoehorn the drivetrain and suspension from the all-conquering GT-R into it](http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/nissan-juke-r-first-drive-review).
Jason Chatterley Design03mitsubishi-imiev
__Mitsubishi iMiEV__ If there's a poster child for the electric vehicle as appliance, [the iMiEV](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/geekdad/2012/10/mitsubishi-i-miev/) is it. It's dinky, underpowered, and has barely enough juice for a round-trip to the grocery store. It also looks like a jellybean. But for green-minded urban dwellers on a budget, it's leaps and bounds more practical than the Smart ForTwo, cooler than a Toyota iQ and cheaper than a Nissan Leaf. Add up all the incentives and you're looking at just over $21K for an oh-so-Japanese bit of mobile kitsch cute enough to give Hello Kitty a run for her money.
Mercedes04mercedes-benz-g63-amg
__Mercedes G-Wagen__ It's blocky. It's crass. And compared to every other Mercedes, completely unrefined. The G-Wagen also is thoroughly awesome, particularly the utterly bonkers G55 AMG version, with its twin-turbocharged 500-horsepower V8. If that isn't insane enough, there's also a twin-turbo V12 version with 630 ponies. One look at this vault on wheels tells you it was originally a military vehicle. But when you're as rich as the Shah of Iran and own as many M-B shares as he did, Mercedes listens to you when you suggest the world really needs a super-luxe civilian version. The styling has remained pretty much the same since the G-Wagen came along in 1979, but the engines have gotten bigger and the performance better. Sure, it's like driving a leather-clad barn, but all those hip-hop moguls can't be wrong.
05range-rover-evoque
__Range Rover Evoque__ The Evoque is the SUV of 2025. It's angular and angry, squat and purposeful. It's also a Range Rover, which means it'll spend more time in the dealer's garage than your own. But still ... it's freakin' gorgeous. Like the Karma, the Evoque looks like it rolled off the auto show concept stand and onto the road, taking all of the high-style design cues and masterfully making them street legal. The 240-pony turbocharged four-banger is decidedly un-SUV-like but provides plenty of pickup. If the five-door design is too traditional, choose the three-door. It looks like a lifted, luxed-out Volkswagen GTI.
Ford06ford-svt-raptor
__Ford F-150 Raptor__ Give a rabid band of pickup engineers truckloads of money and about as much Red Bull and this is what you get. The Raptor is an off-roading wunderkind, one just as capable at tearing up Baja as taking the kids to school. Opting for the extended cab gives you even more space to scare kiddies on the way to soccer practice, even if its oversized 6.2-liter V8 drinks more than a post-rehab Lindsay Lohan.
Bruce Benedict07fisker-karma-2
__Fisker Karma__ The Karma has dealt with its fair share of woes in the last year — there was that whole [catching](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/autopia/2012/05/fisker-karma-fire/) [on fire](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/autopia/2012/08/fisker-karma-fire-part-deux/) thing — but that doesn't change the fact that it's among the most stunning vehicles to be produced in this new century. Just *look* at it. But despite its plug-in hybrid powerplant and jaw-dropping exterior, the Karma is a four-wheeled compromise. It gets mediocre (for what it is) fuel economy. The interior is high art and low function, and the rear seats are suitable for sub-5-foot amputees. But *look* at it. Fisker had to start somewhere, and as Hollywood's favorite alternative to the Toyota Prius, it succeeds ... for now.
Screengrab courtesy Plain Vanilla08bmw-760li
__BMW 760Li__ The standard BMW 7 Series starts at a few ticks over $70,000. So why would you drop more than double that for something that looks nearly identical to its lesser siblings? Five syllables: twin-turbo V12. More is always more. But beyond six liters of glorious turbocharged displacement and 535 horsepower, it's the way this car dances that keeps us grinning. An adaptable air suspension, rear-wheel steering and electronically actuated anti-roll bars makes this long-wheelbase limo take corners like a sedan half its size. And there's something to be said for driving a 17-foot-long Q-ship that can run to 60 mph in 4.1 seconds. Something like, "Wow."
Stuart Hamilton09bentley-continental-gt
Guilty pleasures. Everybody's got 'em, and these are ours. They're automotive junk food, they're the rolling equivalents of that '80s pop-infused playlist you hide from your friends. We love these cars, even though we know better. Some are pretentious and ostentatious, most are overpowered and occasionally underwhelming, and they all come from automakers with far cooler cars we'd kill to have. But after a year of driving some of the latest and greatest cars, trucks and crossovers, these 10 hold a special place in our hearts, even if our brains, let alone our wallets, could never justify actually owning one. __Bentley Continental GT__ The latest [Continental GT](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/reviews/2012/10/ft-performance-sedans/?pid=2700) looks pretty much like the last Continental GT, and that's because not much has changed since the original GT debuted in 2003. It's still powered by an absurdly oversized 6.0-liter W12 putting down 616 horsepower and a grin-inducing 590 pound-feet of torque. It remains masterfully crafted on the inside, with hand-stitched leather, rare wood and aluminum trim lining the cabin. And it's still the rich person's Toyota Camry. Seriously. These things are *everywhere*. It's the embodiment of *nouveau riche* — a de facto choice for the well-heeled and under-cultured. But it's also a magnificent beast of a car, sucking up long swathes of pavement in a single gulp while keeping you mercifully isolated from the plebeian world. It's just a shame that the navigation system is about as modern as a 386 PC.
10volvo-c30
__Volvo C30__ In the world of hatchbacks, the Volkwagen Golf reigns supreme. But there's a squat, overlooked 'lil hatch from Sweden that always impresses us. The Volvo C30 isn't the fastest, most engaging or least expensive way to get into a three-door runabout. But what it lacks in features and speed, it makes up for with an achingly attractive exterior, a chassis that's a perfect blend of comfort and composure and that Swedish aesthetic that takes bland and boring and transforms it into minimalist and modern. It isn't the second coming of the P1800 wagon, but it'll do.
