Aston Martin Vantage R

Once you’re engaged, the Aston responds neurally: steering is sharp in either the Comfort or Sport modes, and it’s easy to make smooth transitions in corners and through lanes.

The Vantage is glued, and transitions in lanes and curves feel seamless. Braking is smooth and deep. It’s a sumptuous life inside the Aston Vantage cabin. Leather swaddles the interior, where foot room and head room are par for the class. With a long list of standard features, the Aston Vantage leaves plenty of leeway for customization.

The base Coupe is priced from $119,000. Standard features include power leather seating; a 160-watt audio system with a six-CD/MP3 player and integrated iPod connector and USB; and automatic climate control. Options on the test car included a Bluetooth kit that paired more quickly than any car we've tested; a navigation system that’s not easy to use with the controls provided; satellite radio; and memory and heated seats. With those options and custom trim, the Vantage tested here came to a total of $152,465.

Mazda RX8

Most people know that Mazda builds sporty cars. The heart of the Mazda RX-8 is its high-revving, 1.3-liter rotary engine called the Renesis. This, along with balanced suspension tuning, sharp steering and a svelte 3,000-pound curb weight, makes the rear-wheel-drive RX-8 one of the best-handling cars on the market.

The Mazda RX-8 is a four-seat coupe with a pair of rear-hinged "suicide" doors that ease access to the rear seats. Every RX-8 is powered by a 1.3-liter twin rotary engine, with an output that depends on the transmission. Items available on the Touring and Grand Touring include a limited-slip rear differential, automatic xenon headlights, power driver seat, memory functions, heated seats, leather upholstery, automatic climate control, keyless ignition/entry, surround-sound audio, Bluetooth and a navigation system.

The R3 is a high-performance variant packing 19-inch wheels, an aggressively tuned suspension, Recaro sport seats, exterior body modifications and some of the other trims' high-tech convenience features.

The rotary engine requires high engine speeds to make serious power, but the delivery is virtually vibration-free and noise levels are subdued. Introduced for 2004, the Mazda RX-8 heralded the return of the rotary-powered sports car to the United States after a near decade-long hiatus. Initially, the RX-8's automatic transmission was a four-speed unit.

Audi A6 3.0T

Audi gives buyers a choice of three different engines for the A6: a 255 hp 3.1 L V6, a 300 hp 3.0 L supercharged V6, and a 350 hp 4.2 L V8. Our test model featured the supercharged engine, which is all-new for 2009 and provides the best balance of price and performance. About the only thing holding the car back is a rather hefty 4,100 pound curb weight, but in real world driving conditions we rarely wished for more power. Shifting duties are handled by a 6 speed automatic transmission with Tiptronic® that features sport and manual modes. Shifts are quick and quite smooth, and the sport mode does a nice job of keeping the engine in the right gear for more aggressive driving. The A6 also comes with a revised version of Audi’s Quattro all-wheel drive that features a more rear-biased torque distribution (40/60 instead of 50/50) to provide more responsive handling.

Although Audi did a great job of tuning the suspension to balance ride quality with handling, the A6 is a pretty big car and doesn’t hide this fact when cornering. Out on the freeway, the A6 is perfectly poised and relishes taking wide sweeping turns at speed.

Once on the road, however, our ears were assaulted with a startlingly loud squeaking noise emanating from the right rear seat. Given the otherwise superb build quality, we suspect that the seat was manhandled during previous testing and we’re confidant Audi would fix such an obnoxious noise under warranty.

Dodge Charger SRT8

The interior is a virtual sea of plastic, save for the leather seats and leather trim around the door-mounted window controls. The seat stitching is uniform and tight. Surprisingly, I found a large piece of rusting steel wool under the intake runners.

The first thing I adjust when I get into a car is the driver’s seat. The Charger’s power front seats never quite felt “right” no matter what I did. In front of the seat controls is a small rocker switch that moves the pedals fore and aft depending on leg length.

The steering column tilts and telescopes. Surprising for a muscle-car, the Charger’s HVAC system included both heated seats and dual-zone climate controls. Using it for other features such as the cd/radio/satellite/other controls was straightforward. I drove it to our favorite coffee shop in Capitola and the engine thrived in the uphill sweepers of Hwy 17.

The Brembo brakes work exceptionally well. Under less cardiac stress and off public streets, our brake tests showed that the Brembos halted the Charger faster than a fly caught in a spider’s web. Using maximum brake force at high speed did not upset the dynamics of the Charger, nor did the brakes lock up.

Nissan Maxima 3.5 SV

The Maxima was very rock solid in terms of build quality. The door handles look nice and felt good. The steering wheel felt thick and sturdy and the car seats were extremely snug. The quality of the interior was Infiniti-level and looked and felt expensive.

The instrument panel was pretty straight forward and functional. I like the white backlighting at night, and the dials have white lines that work well during the day. Nissan provides a place to insert the keyless fob just to the left of the steering column if you don’t have a convenient pocket. The stereo controls were fairly easy to learn and use. The seats were extremely snug and comfortable.

The driver’s seat kept me in place on turns and I was really surprised at how sturdy it felt. There’s also plenty of head room and rear leg room for tall people. There are too many buttons on the steering wheel! The controls on the old G35 steering wheel were better designed. GM also has good steering wheel controls on the backside, they work well when driving. I kept hitting the left lever for volume and it keeps changing the navi options on screen.

I also fail to understand the rationale behind the ugly Compact Flash jack on the center console. The Maxima has the iPod connect option with a cable in the armrest and supposedly iPod controls through the stereo and touch screen. Then I connected my wife’s iPod Touch since a lot of accessories don’t work with iPhones. However, the Maxima could not read the songs on the iPod Touch either! We listened to “80s 0n 8″ channel in Sirius all weekend.

Ford Shelby GT500

At nearly 2 tons, this hyperactive Mustang is more Clydesdale than quarter horse, but thanks to this year's tweaks to the suspension, transmission and tire fitment, the latest Shelby GT500 is a horse of a different color compared to the previous version. During our saddle time, we took the Shelby GT500 through the winding roads of Napa Valley and also threw it around a road course at Infineon raceway. A supple ride, easy clutch, comfortable seats, a much-improved cabin and coddling features (such as dual-zone climate control and Ford's Sync system) make the speedy Shelby easy to live with.

Performance
Under the functionally vented hood, the Shelby GT500 houses a supercharged 5.4-liter V8 that now sports a cold-air intake, a feature that contributes to the 40 additional horses gained for 2010. Unlike before, however, the latest GT500 isn't strictly a straight-line machine — it also impressed us when hustling through the turns. A max-effort stop from 60 mph ate up just 106 feet of pavement, while successive hard stops showed no fade, and the pedal controlling those beefy stoppers was easy to modulate.

Comfort
Although the front buckets don't have the multitude of adjustments that some full-on sport seats offer (e.g., adjustable side bolsters and extendable thigh support), they're well-shaped and firm enough for proper support on long trips

Function
Like the rest of the Mustang stable, the GT500 features a complete refresh of its audio and climate controls, while maintaining a few old-fashioned touches (like the twist-knob headlight switch) for this old-fashioned type of car. This includes Ford's excellent Sync electronics interface, which allows easy control of cell phones and iPods through voice commands.
Design/Fit and Finish
Leather and faux-suede sport seats with a racing stripe down their center highlight the cabin.

Bentley Continental GTC Speed

It shouldn't come as a surprise that the 2010 Bentley Continental GTC Speed is a nice automobile, as the Bentley name doesn't get slapped to just any old thing. In Bentley-speak, GTC refers to the convertible version of the Continental GT coupe. The Speed bit signifies that this Bentley is "Born of the same heart as the GTC, but with a different soul. Sportier. Overall, we'd have to say the 2010 GTC Speed is worth the extra cash over the "regular old" GTC.

Performance
Bentley's W12 also benefits from twin turbochargers, and the GTC Speed gets a tweaked version good for 600 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque (versus 552 and 479). It all adds up to a colossus of power that motivates this all-wheel-drive convertible from zero to 60 mph in 4.6 seconds, even though the 5,562-pound GTC Speed weighs as much as a Chevy Tahoe. The rear-biased all-wheel drive and adjustable suspension settings allow for more enthusiastic driving than you'd ever think possible. However, the GTC Speed never inspires you to treat it as anything other than an incredibly fast touring car.

Comfort
Lower the beautifully lined soft top, erect the folding wind deflector over the backseat, raise the windows and marvel at how little noise and air infiltrate the Bentley's cabin. With the top up, you'll be hard-pressed to find a quieter soft-top convertible.
The adjustable self-leveling air suspension constantly monitors ride height and damping depending on road conditions to provide the best ride possible.

Function
In grand British tradition, the Continental GTC Speed is ergonomically challenged, although it's actually the Germans' fault this time. The navigation system is almost unusable due to its dial-up processing speed, ancient graphics and cumbersome controls. As convertibles go, the GTC Speed's top-up visibility is good thanks to the large rear side windows.

Design/Fit and Finish
In our test car, supple diamond-quilted leather seats in Burnt Oak brown were accented with optional Magnolia tan border stitching.