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I really admire the Volkswagen CC's premium interior, practical-yet-engaging powertrain, and reasonable price. Well equipped in its base trim and starting at $28,560, I think of the CC as an Audi A4 with a $5000 discount. The slick-shifting six-speed manual and willing-to-rev 200-hp four-cylinder are a joy to work quickly. There are some interior bits here shared with $18,000 Golfs, but they still meet the class standard in a $30,000 sedan; this is how VW earned that reputation for fabulous interiors, by creating shared parts that are at-home in the most expensive vehicle they're used in.

It's appropriate that BMW has bestowed perhaps the most extreme example of its ridiculous new naming convention upon the most extreme version of its Z4 hardtop roadster, the sDrive35is. Suffice it to say that the "s" at the end of the newest Z4's name stands for "sport" and is accompanied by a lot more than a cute little body kit.