Best buys. Best rides. Best of the best.
鈥楾is the season for such lists from auto industry experts.
But Yahoo! Autos took a little different approach with its 2016 Ride of the Year awards, naming the Fresh Ride, Tech Ride, Savvy Ride, Epic Ride 鈥� and Overall Ride.
鈥淔or this year鈥檚 test, we rethought our contest to focus on the way people choose their vehicles today, comparing cars and SUVs together,鈥� wrote Justin Hyde, Yahoo! Autos managing editor.
The four category winners from among 22 of the 鈥渕ost important new models鈥� of 2016 are the Mazda MX-5 Miata (Fresh), Volvo XC90 (Tech), Mazda CX-3 (Savvy) and Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 (Epic).
Here鈥檚 what Yahoo! Autos had to say about each:
Mazda MX-5 Miata 鈥� 鈥淢iata is a giant leap forward, proving that less can do so much more. With a starting price of $24,915, there鈥檚 nothing out there that鈥檚 as refreshing and lively to drive as the 2016 Miata. It鈥檚 the essence of fun in cars, and that鈥檚 what makes it fresh鈥� 鈥� Aki Sugawara, associate editor.
Volvo XC90 鈥� 鈥淗ands down. Best ride, most unobtrusive technology, most refined self-driving and safety features鈥� 鈥� David Pogue, Yahoo! tech writer, who evaluated dashboard and self-driving technologies.
Mazda CX-3 鈥� 鈥淎t $27,000, the small SUV had every major tech feature 鈥� of the SUVs that cost $10,000 more. 鈥� The interior of the CX-3 didn鈥檛 feel like an economy-class downgrade [and] the driving dynamics were typically Mazda 鈥� sporty without punishment鈥� 鈥� Justin Hyde, managing editor.
Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 鈥� 鈥淭he word 鈥榚pic鈥� is often thrown around loosely. But the [Mustang] truly defines the term. It鈥檚 a car that ensures every fiber in your body tingles before you鈥檝e even turned it on. And when you do, grown adults giggle like pre-pubescent youths鈥� 鈥� Alex Lloyd, editor at large. 鈥淭he best Mustang ever made鈥� has a base price of $47,795 and was $56,790 as tested.
The Volvo XC90 also was named overall Ride of the Year for combining 鈥渂road consumer appeal, technological advances that add to the driver experience rather than detract from it, cutting-edge safety technology, style and overall value,鈥� wrote Sharon Silke Carty, Yahoo! Autos editor-in-chief.
鈥淥nce we came up with the requirements for the overall award, the winner was an easy pick 鈥� After a day or two of testing, it seemed that everyone was in love with the 2016 Volvo XC90.鈥�
The base price of the overall winner is a 鈥減retty pricey鈥� $49,800, Carty wrote, and $66,855 as tested.
