2 1 AUGUST 2019 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 45
26–15 TOP 50 CARS
Aston Martin DB11 AMR
Wa nt a DB11 w it h a 1 2- c y l i nde r
engine? We wouldn’t blame you.
And now that Aston Martin has
rolled the suspension and steering
improvements introduced on the
DB11 V8 out ont o t h i s v e r sion of t he
car – the DB11 AMR – you can have
the best of both worlds. The 630bhp
motor is a dream, while the car’s ride
is more elastic and insulating than
was the original V12’s – but with
c lo s e r b o d y c ont r ol , t o o.
Ford Focus
The days of the mass-market, all-dominant, volume-branded family hatch
may be an increasingly dim memory – but thanks to its new model platform
and a fine dynamic execution, you don’t need to remember the late 1990s to
have known the Focus at its greatest. The current version, introduced only last
year, puts the car back at the height of its powers. Both better packaged and
better equipped than its predecessor, the fourth-generation Focus also weaves
its old magic with keen engines, a taut, f luent chassis and incisive steering.
Volvo XC40
The sheer ubiquity of the premium-branded compact SUV makes most of
them all but invisible on UK roads – but not this one. Volvo’s chunkily and
cheerily styled XC40 is approaching two years old but remains as fresh a
sight today as it has ever been. Combining a small-feeling footprint with
an unmistakable and convenient SUV driving position, it has a fairly
roomy and very pleasant cabin and is easy and obliging to drive.
Volkswagen Golf
(including the GTI and R)
The Golf will pass its 50th anniversary
in its next, eighth-generation model
cycle, which is due later this year.
And the amazing thing is that it
h a s b e e n s o c on si s t e nt l y V W ’s b e s t-
selling model. The current version
is compact yet roomy, refined and
p ol i she d t o d r i v e a nd , e v e n on t he e v e
of its replacement, still as ageless as
it i s c l a s sle s s. B ot h GT I a nd a l l-paw R
performance derivatives are excellent.
Jaguar I-Pace
Jaguar was a struggling car maker with it all to lose when it took a
c on side r a ble r i sk w it h it s f i r s t e le c t r ic c a r, br e a k i n g dow n de si g n nor m s
a nd m a k i n g w av e s i n t he pr o c e s s. T he I-Pa c e b e at mo s t of it s E V SU V r i v a l s
to market and is still making them look staid and conservative today. It’s a
true Jaguar on driver appeal, and imaginative and advanced, too, in its cabin
appointments. A tour de force.
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The Continental GT V8 coupé
off ers sharpened handling
and more accessible torque
a
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