The truth about cars today is that, frankly, most of them are pretty darn good. Yes, some are better than others, but it’s pretty rare that something is truly awful, or for that matter truly brilliant. But on the brilliant side, we’d have to give the 2012 Mazda MAZDA3 sedan the nod.
Styling
We certainly like the looks. This is a handsome, crisp looking little sedan, definitely a little less swoopy than its sibling 5-door hatchback, and maybe the better for it. An all-new Mazda 3 was introduced for 2010, and at that time it got the new corporate smiley face grille that has polarized some buyers. For 2012, Mazda has tamed the design a little. Now the car just looks happy, not bordering on deranged.
This new 2012 Audi A6 luxury performance sedan is a solid, handsome piece with a best-in-class aero drag coefficient of 0.26. The $50K U.S. volume model is motivated by a delightfully eager 310-hp supercharged, direct-injected 3.0-liter V6, happily wedded to an eight-speed Tiptronic automatic transmission that can be manually shifted via steering wheel paddles. It drives all four wheels through Audi’s quattro all-wheel-drive system, which asymmetrically distributes drive torque 40 percent front, 60 percent rear under normal conditions, and it’s good for 5.3-sec. 0-60 performance and a respectable 19 mpg city/28 highway/22 combined EPA mpg. 
We recently tested the Hyundai Tucson and came away quite impressed with its sharp design, overall value and high quality. So we couldn’t wait to test the all-new 2011 Hyundai Elantra, designed to fight it out in one of the toughest, most competitive segments in the market—the compact sedan.
Some people are convinced the world will end in 2012. But for the 2012 Honda Pilot, which debuts with a sleek new look, better fuel economy, and an upgraded interior, it’s only the beginning.