15 new vehicles that moved the needle in 2023

Subjective? You bet. Any list of the most important vehicles introduced this past year is definitely open to debate. This has been a banner year for debuts, including sports cars, trucks, luxury EVs, and more. If we got it wrong, there’s a comments section down at the bottom where you can set us straight. Here are 15 vehicles we think moved the needle in 2023, or will soon in 2024. They are organized alphabetically, rather than ranked in any particular order. By the way, if you think we’re leaving out vehicles such as the new BMW M2, Toyota GR Corolla, Kia EV6 and the Toyota Prius, we covered them in our 2022 list. Click here for a refresher.

Acura Integra Type S: What do you know, there’s life at Acura after all. Based on the Honda Civic Type R, Acura injects 320 horsepower into the Integra’s engine bay, gives it an active-damping suspension, and an appropriate interior. Yes, it’s well over $50,000, but probably worth it. Check out our review here.

Buick Envista: This hatchback-looking sedan is perhaps the biggest surprise of the year. Yes, it’s built on the same platform as the Chevrolet Trax and is powered by a modest three-cylinder engine, but the designers and engineers who worked on the Envista did a remarkable job of creating a handsome, fun-to-drive car that should bring some younger buyers to the brand while satisfying current Buick customers who don’t want an SUV—and yes, stunningly, those people do exist. Nicely done, Buick. Read our review here.

Chevrolet Blazer EV: This was a good year for SUVs, and the fact that the Chevrolet Blazer EV won Motor Trend magazine’s SUV of the Year award speaks well to what Chevy has done to the previously vanilla Blazer. Based on the Ultium platform, the Blazer EV will soon be available with an SS package that makes 557 horsepower for those not content with the 288 horses powering the AWD dual-motor RS. Handsome on the outside, and functional on the inside, the Blazer EV is a solid step forward. Here’s our review.

Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray: The first production all-wheel-drive Corvette did not disappoint, and even traditional Corvette loyalists can’t help but read the performance figures of the hybrid and marvel at the fact that it challenges the mighty Z06 model. Here’s our review of the E-Ray.

Dodge “Last Call” Challengers and Chargers: While the Chevrolet Camaro went out this year with a whimper, the Challenger and the Charger went out with a bang, thanks to a series of “Last Call” special editions that showcased the Hemi V-8, marketed as your last chance to get a true, proven performance car (at least until the electric Dodges come out). Here’s our take on the Dodge Charger Super Bee.

Ferrari Purosangue: With a 715-horsepower naturally-aspirated V-12 under the hood, Ferrari’s inevitable SUV and first-ever four-door has the proper look and feel of a Ferrari, and has a very Ferrari-like $400,000 price tag. Here’s our review of the Purosangue, which is Italian for thoroughbred.

Ford Mustang Dark Horse: Yes, we covered the 2024 Ford Mustang in this list last year, but we hadn’t had a chance to drive the lineup yet. We have now, and they are all worthy of the Mustang name, but there’s something about the 500-horsepower (it feels like more) Dark Horse model that deserves a shoutout here. We’ve lost the Dodge Challenger and the Chevrolet Camaro, making the Mustang Dark Horse the last of the pure-ICE-engine breed. Check out our review here.

Kia EV9: Sit in the EV9 and look around, and you can tell the designers spent a long time making it modern inside, but still familiar enough that someone who has never driven an electric vehicle before will feel immediately comfortable. Our test car was roomy enough for six adults—middle-seat passengers are catered to with a pair of very comfortable captain’s chairs—while rear-seat passengers have ample leg room. It drives well, has decent horsepower (up to 379), and corners with competence. An electric SUV with very few flaws.

Lucid Gravity/Air Sapphire: Lucid operates on the principle that if you build it, they will come. “They” of course meaning customers, who are thus far taking their time discovering the brand. Too bad. Lucid introduced two new electric models: The Gravity SUV, available with up to 800 horsepower, should start at about $80,000, with upscale models that will be priced way into six figures. And there’s the 1234-horsepower Air Sapphire, which starts at over $250,000. We’ve liked every Lucid we’ve driven—check out our review of the Sapphire—and we’re looking forward to the Gravity.

Mercedes-AMG S 63 E Performance: What’s not to like about the most powerful S-Class ever? It retains all the ultra-luxury features you expect, and the hybrid powertrain pumps out a combined 791 horsepower and 1055 lb-ft of torque, delivered to all four wheels. Our test vehicle was priced at an estimated $240,000. Read the review here.

Tesla Cybertruck: The most talked-about vehicle of 2023, the Cybertruck is an absolute love-it-or-hate-it vehicle, and certainly the top candidate to become a complete flop or a major hit. Hagerty.com was among the first to get a test drive of the Cybertruck: Click here for our video review.

Toyota Land Cruiser: Maybe it isn’t the vehicle that dedicated Land Cruiser fans were hoping for, but it’s still worthy of the name. Powered by a 326-horsepower hybrid powertrain made up of a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine and a single electric motor, it will at least be cheaper than the last Cruiser, a 2021 model, which cost about $87,000. Toyota says the new Land Cruiser will start in the mid-$50,000 range.

Toyota Tacoma: Toyota finally replaced its ancient Tacoma with a thoroughly modern if somewhat pricey pickup this year, and so far it seems to be a big success. The Tacoma has long been the gold standard of smaller pickups, routinely the benchmark that other manufacturers weigh their own products against. Toyota will send some of them back to the drawing boards with this new version. Read more about the Tacoma here.

VinFast VF8: Yes, of course, the VinFast VF8 and the other VinFast SUVs were the worst-reviewed vehicles of 2024, with the consensus being that they simply aren’t ready for America. But you have to tip your hat to the bombastic way the seven-year-old Vietnamese company entered the U.S. market, with a surprisingly wide selection of electric models (possibly adding a $20,000 electric SUV to its lineup), plans to build a $2 billion plant in North Carolina, and stock that’s already trading on Nasdaq (and not doing all that bad). Is VinFast’s vehicle lineup why they made the list? No. But this is: You can bet there are a lot of Chinese companies that would love to come to the U.S., and they are watching this VinFast experiment very closely.

Volvo EX30: With a base price of $36,245, including shipping, Volvo’s small electric SUV checks a lot of boxes. It’s pretty, comfortable, quick (268 horsepower for the single-motor base model, 422 for the twin-motor version), and has the advantage of being a premium-branded product. Deliveries have been delayed a bit, so don’t expect to see an EX30 until late spring or summer of 2024. When it finally does show up, the little car could make some big noise. Read our review here.

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