Top 50 cars on sale today

Slide of It’s been five years since we last ranked our outright favourite new cars. Given one or two newsworthy things have happened in the automotive and wider world during that time, the idea was long overdue for a repeat visit. Much has changed since 2019, of course, But since the focus here was on picking our favourites, the cars that appeal to us most, that process provided as much fun as it did fights. Back in 2019, the Alpine A110 beat the McLaren 600LT Spider to the crown. So which car will triumph in 2024? Read on to find out… Slide of 50: Ferrari Purosangue ‘It’s an SUV, Jim, but not as we know it.’ In fact, Ferrari would rather you didn’t call it one at all, if you don’t mind. This, instead, is an ‘FUV’ – one with a near-50:50 weight balance, a super-stiff aluminium chassis, an unfathomably advanced adaptive suspension system and the small matter of a screaming, 715bhp V12 mounted aft of its front axle. It’s a bona fide super-coupé that gives a better view over hedges and won’t crack its splitter on every speed bump. Slide of 49: Alpina D3 and B3 What does a true performance all-rounder look like? It probably has a big boot, and four-wheel drive would be handy. Supercar-baiting straight-line pace would help trim those long cross-country jaunts, and how about a chassis that effortlessly melds unflappable refinement with scintillating dynamics? But then it would still need to be pretty fuel efficient, too. If only such an impossibly well-rounded automobile existed. Oh, hang on… Slide of 48: Kia EV6 ‘Electric SUV’ and ‘fun to drive’ aren’t often seen in the same sentence, but there’s genuine depth of character to the way Kia’s debut bespoke EV handles a twisting B-road, with the added bonus of ample straight-line performance – whichever powertrain you choose. And even at three years old, the EV6 still looks bang up-to-date while touting the tech specs to contend with many a newer rival. An EV to buy with both your head and your heart. Slide of 47: Volkswagen ID Buzz Volkswagen’s reborn Bulli is cheerful, supremely capacious and impressively refined, making a strong case for itself as the ultimate do-it-all electric wagon. It can crack more than 200 miles/320 km on a charge in the real world and because it is in effect a massive ID 3, it doesn’t feel much like a van to drive. It’s a wholly different beast from the original Type 2 – and light years ahead in terms of technology – but it’s just as easy to love. Slide of 46: Skoda Enyaq It does exactly what Skoda’s first bespoke electric car needed to do: wraps a load of kit in a handsome shell at a competitive price, while sugaring the EV adoption pill with a decent range and punchy performance. The plush L&K edition touts genuine luxury credentials and the top-link vRS is a fast family hauler with a fun side. Slide of 45: Range Rover ‘Peerless’ is not a word that is usually associated with a car for long because, almost inevitably, another manufacturer will come along and improve on the formula. However, we are still waiting for something to out-Range Rover the Range Rover. A few others can match and perhaps even beat its ride and comfort levels, but also being able to tackle the world’s toughest off-road conditions makes it unique. Slide of 44: Polestar 2 At its maker’s first attempt, the Polestar 2 bettered the equivalent EV efforts from Audi and Mercedes. Yet it hasn’t stood still. Recently, the 2 received one of the most comprehensive and successful facelifts of recent times. Most notable was a switch from front- to rear-wheel drive in single-motor versions that usefully boosted efficiency by as much as 26% according to our road test, and its handling improved at the same time. The 2’s pleasing blend of style, quality, drivability and efficiency marks Polestar as a brand to watch. Slide of 43: MG 4 EV The MG 4 has begun a price revolution for EVs with meaningful space and range. It appeals to lots of different buyers in different ways: we can all get on board with the low entry point, but the car’s distinctive design gives it real charm in a sea of homogenised blobs, and the chassis sophistication is up there with a Cupra Born. The XPower version hasn’t been quite as revolutionary for electric hot hatchbacks, mind. Slide of 42: McLaren Artura The Artura’s development was as painful as they come, yet thankfully the end result was worth the difficult birth. The Artura blazes a trail of sorts by adopting hybrid technology in a ‘mainstream’ McLaren for the first time, and it employs it to both simply and subtly make a better version of the McLaren formula that we’ve got to know so well over the past decade. That means true daily usability, a Lotus-like ride and fluent handling – although it still won’t be exciting enough for some. Slide of 41: Rolls-Royce Phantom There’s a case to be made for t