These were our favorite cars of 2022

2022 GMC Hummer EV

Senior Editor, Green, John Pelts Snyder: I didn't expect to particularly like the new Hummer. I wasn't a huge fan of the Hummer H2 or H3, so I wasn't automatically happy with the electric reset. Fast electric cars aren't hard to come by, in fact they can be very easy to come by, so the performance spec wasn't enough to appeal to me. Despite videos to the contrary, trucks are not my preferred vehicle format .And its excessive size and weight put me off...until I finally got behind the wheel.
This thing is so much fun to drive. Controlling Watts' freedom of movement is a neat party trick for sure, but the novelty wears off quickly. Rear-wheel steering makes this behemoth feel so much smaller than it is, and the maneuverability is surprising and useful. The air suspension gives plenty of clearance, including a ridiculously low suction position. Jeremy Korzyniewski, Senior Consumer Editor: If I could put one of these things on my driveway, I would. Did I get the letter wrong?). I still love stupid. Fortunately, I have another option below...

2022 Porsche 911 GT3

Associate Editor Byron Hurd: Yeah sure, a good Porsche. But there are good ones, and then there's the GT3. This is a feeling all performance-oriented RWD tuners try to replicate. This is challenging, nuanced, invasive, and deeply satisfying. To start exploring this car on a public road is in itself an admission that you think you are above the rules that apply to ordinary drivers.  In GT3, you probably are. Maybe it's the Red Guard. Maybe it was my subconscious that this car was about to go. Whatever the source of the incredible magnetism of this car, its power is undeniable. I don't believe in the devil, but I understand better those who say they were forced to. This is the worst car impact I have ever had I want to travel around the world with him.

2022 Honda Civic Sports Touring 6MT

Coming to terms with my choice, I zipped my test car calendar through January and began to push forward. There was nothing to bring down the Mercedes EQS 580 I drove extensively around Southern California in late March—it's big, comfortable, powerful, shockingly powerful, unapologetically futuristic, and just clicked—until I arrived in late September and picked up a tiny gray Honda Civic. Touring sport hatchback with six-speed manual. I fell in love with that car instantly. There's just something about a small sedan with plenty of torque that will always tug at my heart strings (my first/love car was the 2000 Jetta VR6), and even though it's technically a hatchback, the Civic Sport Touring proves it head on. And she has the best guide I can think of...thinking of the car right above that entrance...sure I think I can go with that. It made every ride enjoyable, isn't that what the best cars are supposed to do?

The great thing, of course, is that it's not quite as expensive as the EQS 580 or anything else on this list. I can get three of them. It's practical, too, with a large, versatile trunk that I've actually used extensively on the go, a back seat that has more than enough room to fit my son's giant front-facing car seat and has room in the front for a normal-size human car. Add in the fact that the Sport Touring has more equipment than the Civic Si and I'd argue for a better interior than the Integra, and I honestly wouldn't hesitate to get one rather than its supposedly better siblings. In fact, if I needed a car now, I'd go buy a Civic Sport Touring with a six-speed manual. Even if I had more money to spend on, say, a noteworthy BMW M3, I think I'd still buy the Civic. There is something pure and enjoyable about it. I will remember that car for a very, very long time.

2022 Ford Bronco Raptor

I sure had a lot of fun behind the wheel blasting a Bronco Raptor in the California desert. I don't think I've ever felt so confident at this speed in an off-road vehicle over such difficult terrain. The Raptor's capabilities (shout out to Johnny Lieberman for that title) are absolutely incredible, and they don't just beat dirt. I was able to put the turbo monster through its paces on some fun mountain roads in the Palm Springs suburbs, and I can confirm that the Bronco Raptor is (almost) as fun to drive on the asphalt as it is through the dust.

Lamborghini Huracan STO

I'd go for the Porsche 911 GT3 if this mid-engine mayhem wasn't part of my 2022 car. Flat-jackets are great and all, but have you tried a V10 for size lately? They're cuddly, and I've found my STO to be a perfect fit. The Huracán Special Track was the first Lamborghini I've ever driven, and oddly enough, it didn't quite live up to the expectations I had. However, this is a good thing! The rear-wheel drive, lightweight STO doesn't follow any stereotypes of Lamborghini being less of a driver's car than its supercar counterparts. I like it, and it leads me to believe that I started out with a new Lamborghini that suited my driving tastes.
I think it took days to get off the top over a few hundred miles of canyon roads in California. It's cars like this, the 911 GT3 and other high-performance naturally aspirated vehicles that make me want to enjoy this wonderful era of internal combustion for as long as possible.

2023 Cadillac Lyriq

2023 Cadillac Lyriq I've highly considered the Hummer EV, but since it's already taken, I'll opt for another GM electric: the slick Lyriq. Encapsulated in sharp, tasteful design and promising up to 312 miles of range, it's the EV that gets to the heart of the crossover market and introduces Cadillac to a new audience of electric buyers. I enjoyed driving it on a short test loop outside of Ann Arbor. It offers impressive acceleration and sporty, yet still comfortable driving dynamics. The interior and exterior design is very forward looking and also reminds me of Cadillac design from the 60's. It was a time when Cadillac knew it had a presence, and the style reflects that, and it wasn't overdone.

2023 Polestar 2

I've driven a lot of cars I've really loved this year, and two of my favorites have been sporty EVs, the Kia EV6 GT and Polestar 2. I was very impressed with my choice. But the Polestar 2—which isn't the most recent, but I only finally managed to drive one this year—wins me over in a few key ways. The Polestar allows you to sit nice and low like in sports cars, while the Kia has a higher seating position. Polestar has a much nicer routing. Even in basic single-engine trim, the Polestar 2 feels light and fun. The EV6 GT is really fun. It has great seats, the power is pleasant, and so is the drift mode. The Kia can also be said to be a better value and have better interior controls. But I feel like Polestar does a little better with some of the driving details, and that's key for me

2022 BMW I4 M50

2022 BMW I4 M50     I haven't driven a Kia EV6 yet, and I share Joel's opinion of the Polestar 2 - many of us are enjoying this car. The BMW i4 M50 is another great electric car that won't have you just asking, "Why get the gas version?" It'll make you wonder, "Why would you get a gasoline-powered BMW when they offer it?" The car is insanely powerful (536 peak horsepower and 586 lb-ft of torque), insanely quick (0-60 in 3.3 or 3.7 seconds depending on who you ask), with a driving range that's in line with real-world testing (227 miles on this car, and 301 miles on a single engine (La Caliente i4). It features the liftback style of the slightly larger Tesla Model S but costs tens of thousands of dollars less. It's a nice big ride, so it makes you forgive the infotainment system's petty woes. Maybe I could even learn to live with that bulkhead - that's how good the car is.