Who makes the best-looking cars? According to us, a rather eclectic mix, ranging from everyday cars impressively styled by the likes of Hyundai, to exotic machinery penned by luxury automakers like Aston Martin and Lucid. Now, and in no particular order, these are the best-looking cars on sale this year, according to our staff—and we largely skipped the obvious picks.
When asked what were the best-looking cars, Johnny Liberman replied “Aston Martin. All of them.” It’s a highly defensible proclamation, as the company has spent most of its century-plus run making aesthetic art into an aesthetic science. When you’re paying Aston Martin money, jaws should drop, and the DB12 delivers at least as well as its stablemates. An important factor in this exotic GT’s look is that it’s a classically beautiful shape, like all the best-looking Astons are, and designed just enough rather than too much. Many exotics look sexy for a decade. This one will probably look sexy next century.
Calling theToyota Prius a sexy car was a corny joke, until 2023. Now it’s simple reality, akin to saying water is wet. The Prius’ reputation as anti-sexy was earned as it became the poster child of environmentally friendly automobiles in the early 2000s. It was a vehicle fit for purpose, thoroughly practical and extremely cheap to run. But while celebrities drove it up to the red carpet to make a point, that point was about anything but looking good. These days, EV purists often bash the eco credentials of the Prius, and Toyota as a whole. But the Prius continues to sip gas where others chug, while looking better than just about anything else in traffic.It’s not even slow anymore.
“The Prius is an absolute turn-around from what it once was, and it's now a very good-looking car.” —Justin Banner
Another relatively recent automotive glow-up was Hyundai’s. 20 years ago, the entire company was mocked in aTokyo Drift throwaway quote. “Whatchu think, imma let you roll in a Hyundai?” Well, now Hyundai’s winning World Rally Championships, building some of the best performance cars on the market, and penning economical midsize sedans that look like they rolled out ofCyberpunk. We’d roll in a Hyundai. Especially the Sonata, which matches the good looks with plenty of interior space and good driving dynamics. Any family sedan that can spin tires on a whim while looking this good is punching above its weight.
The best-looking cars are those that turn heads decades after leaving the showroom, and we have a sneaking suspicion theGenesis G70 will be one of those cars. Succinctly beautiful, the G70 carries less aggression but more purpose. Sleek, simple, and confident, this compact executive sedan espouses the good looks of a luxury car. All without the vents, edges, and compromises of its BMW competition.
“I'm rather impressed with the things that Genesis has done with its sedan lineup.” —Justin Banner
Style is the Lexus LC500’s specialty. Sure, it gets rapid when you put your foot down, and it’s a devastatingly comfortable road trip machine, but just ... look at it. The sonorous V-8, good straight-line performance, and available drop -op motoring are also-rans when competing with those looks. The LC’s GT-over-sports-car priorities mean it isn’t as sporty as it appears, but not many cars invite you to stare into their infinity taillights. Incapable of competing with the likes of the Chevy Corvette or Porsche Cayman in handling, the LC500 nonetheless has both mid-engine sports cars beat on style.
“What isthat?” is the wide-eyed thought of many who watch this wide, low, sleek world-beating luxury sedan roll by. It looks like old money from the year 2150. Sharp like a razor and elegant like a pianist’s fingers, the Lucid Air somehow looks smaller in person than in pictures, while carrying the presence only a full-size sedan can. Naturally, the handling, performance, and comfort of this all-electric testament to engineering all define the top of its class. But just seeing one feels like seeing a spaceship, and that’s what will stick with you.
We’ve reached the point where seeing a mid-engine Chevy Corvette in the wild is commonplace. A more than half-century old dream is now fulfilled, and any boosts to the ’Vette’s curb appeal coming from rarity or freshness have long since faded. Yet, seeing one is still striking. It still has the look of a mid-engine exotic, the hips containing huge amounts of tire, the rakish intakes, the extraordinarily racy silhouette. There are many, including someMotorTrend editors, who see the C8 as over-styled, but this is a sub-100K American mid-engine sports car. Some extra sauce is earned.
Thirty years ago, Toyota was building three of the world’s best-looking performance cars at the same time. The compact yet genuinely exotic SW20 MR2, the sleek and sculpted Celica GT4, and naturally the endlessly iconic A80 Supra. That magic, lost for several decades, is back in the Toyota GR86. Whereas the first-gen so-called GT86 was a decent-looking sports car, the updated GR was given enough oomph to look special from the factory. The GR86 bakes some modified JDM style into a car with a classically cool silhouette, managing to look purposeful without being tacky.
Roadsters are cute cars, but targa-roofed coupes are sexy cars. The Retractable Fastback version of the Mazda Miata takes a gorgeous design and adds an air of the exotic, making a $40,000 car look like double that. Is the extra style worth the blind spot, wind noise, and extra hundred pounds of weight in one of the last remaining lightweight sports cars? One look will tell you either way.
The cavalcade of hate for thenew Hemi-less Dodge Charger was predictable and somewhat understandable. Yet despite the hate directed at the top trims going electric, the style remained almost above reproach in the discourse, uncommon in the highlytraditional Mopar community. Many would assume the newly electric versions of the Charger will be dead on arrival once they show up in dealers later in 2024. But can a coupe Charger with those classic Coke-bottle lines simply be overlooked? Once it starts showing up in music videos, on YouTube destroyingHellcats at the track, and in movie car chases? We’ll see.
Photos by MotorTrend staff, manufacturers
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