Here are 10 of our favorite US cars you can buy right now

The substantial shelf life of Lexus and Toyota vehicles means they can stick around long enough to exhaust our interest, even if they’re spectacular. We love you, LC500, but enough already. With this in mind, the new GX had us in a tizzy because it was exactly that: new. From front to flank, Prado-based GX 550 was a fresh take on the Lexus formula, and we couldn’t wait to get behind the wheel.

Our patience was rewarded as the GX was a joy to spend time with. Its exterior and interior design was sleek and contemporary, the ride was light but firm, and the twin-turbo V6 delivered the goods. Oh, it turns out it can off-road quite well, too. We don’t think we’ll get sick of this one anytime soon.

Read our full review on the Lexus GX

It’s very easy to understand the wide-ranging appeal of the Ford F-150. From the practical to the playful, the versatile pickup is prepared to tackle just about every job. The myriad available configurations means that customers can easily find the truck that fits their needs, and thanks to years of refinement, is packed with more utility than ever before. We enjoyed spending time with the F-150 Tremor, the off-the-shelf off-roader that brought tons of overlanding brainpower to match its brawn. If that’s still not enough, there’s always the 720hp F-150 Raptor, the truck that feels like riding a dinosaur into Valhalla. 

Read our full review on the Ford F-150

The vision of a combustion-free automotive future isn’t relegated to the highways and byways, it extends beyond the pavement, too. Rivian’s R1 series of electric off-roaders is the manifestation of that dream, or at least as close to it as we can get right now. 2024 saw a swathe of improvements to the R1S utility vehicle and R1T pickup, resulting in better rides than the previous generation, a more solid electrical architecture, software refinements and oodles of other details. If emissions-free overlanding sounds a bit too granola for your liking, perhaps the quad-motor R1S’ 1,025hp and 1,198 lb ft of torque will get your attention.

Read our full review on the Rivian R1S

The Lucid Air’s an odd beast, given that, like so many others, it’s been tapping to the same beat that made Tesla the success it is today, for better or for worse. What makes Lucid stand out is that it’s been able to bring something spectacular to the market whereas others merely spewed vapor. This luxury EV ticks all the boxes when it comes to style, comfort and tech gizmos, but it also sticks the landing in terms of performance, blending tried and true engineering with the advantages of all-electric power. Time spent in the 1,234hp top-tier Sapphire model will easily make you a believer, but the more terrestrial 430hp Air Pure allows drivers to focus on the superb handling.

Read our full review on the Lucid Air

All hail the king of competency. There’s a lot that Toyota’s Camry isn’t: sporty, luxurious, exciting, but it’s also not prohibitively expensive, a burden, or uncomfortable. Indeed, the tenacious Toyota is as refined as ever, with an exterior we daresay looks quite sharp, a cozy interior, and all the creature comforts you’d need for hours on the road. Throw in an effortless hybrid system, and you have a no-fuss daily driver that will soak up a batch of commuting miles with ease. Have your favorite podcasts at the ready, you’ll need them.

Read our full review on the Toyota Camry

This one’s special for a number of reasons, and truthfully, its link to Audi’s motorsport heritage isn’t the most amazing thing about it. It’s a wagon with an unbridled twin-turbo V8 that puts all of its 621hp to good use, paired with a racy suspension and a number of other go-fast tweaks to make it a serious sports car. All the while, there is zero compromise on its utility. We can’t even say it has a “split personality” because it wears its sports car and family hauler badges with equal pride. On the subject of badges… yeah, okay, the retro IMSA touches are admittedly quite cool. Rad, even.

Read our full review on the Audi RS6 Avant GT

This year was a big one for restomods and recreations, and it was exciting to spend time with two cars representing different approaches to a similar end. Velocity’s take on the 1967 Ford Mustang was a diabolical Franken-car, a reanimated classic with modern guts. It wasn’t perfect but its charm and the excitement it elicited did a thorough job of papering over some of the cracks. Revology, on the other hand, presented us with a painstaking recreation of the ’68 pony car, with many of the original’s impurities filtered out before fabrication. The common factor between both was they tapped into the enduring love of this classic, and we say they surely succeeded in bringing that spirit back to life.

Read our full review on the Velocity Mustang

Ford’s Maverick is still a fairly young vehicle, but it’s proven to be such a good fit for so many people that it feels like it’s been around forever. The versatile pickup makes the most of its compact stature while still providing a level of utility formerly reserved for its larger forbears. Similar to its beefier siblings, there’s multiple Maverick configurations to meet all kinds of demands, from low-cost FWD hybrids to AWD off-roaders. There are even more changes coming for the Mav in 2025 that’ll really let customers mix and match functions.

Read our full review on the Ford Maverick

Goodness, the latest Elantra caught us off guard. Given its track record, we weren’t expecting it to be bad, per se, but in fairness, we weren’t expecting much at all. The budget sedan’s been thoroughly 'just fine' through multiple iterations, but Hyundai’s elevated the car substantially for the current iteration. Take or leave the design, but it looks like something which is appreciated, and overall, it delivers a level of comfort and sophistication that more affordable fare tends to lack. Then there’s the Elantra N, the 'how do you do, fellow kids?' meme in car form. It would be laughable if it wasn’t actually a blast to drive, and it does so without losing any of its daily utility. Who’s laughing now? Us, because we had a great time.

Read our full review on the Hyundai Elantra

We love it when an automaker commits to making its fun stuff more fun, and so we were happy to get back behind the wheel of the GR Corolla and check out its batch of improvements, including the all-new automatic transmission. Yes, Toyota’s hot hatch is now more accessible and easy to drive, and before you scoff at that (who are we kidding, you’re up to three at this point), the new gearbox is designed specifically for improved performance.

The GR-DAT, or Gazoo Racing Automatic Transmission, is built to take a beating and faster than we can think, making the most ham-fisted driver a track star. We’ll take all the help we’ll get. By the way, as an AWD hatchback, the GR Corolla’s a useful daily driver in-between all the horseplay, making it a solid all-rounder off the track, too.

Read our full review on the Toyota GR Corolla