Best New Cars of 2013

2013 Audi S7

Photo © Audi

Audi S6 and S7

Audi has had a car on this list for four of the last six years. Last year it was the mid-size A6, a beautiful luxury car with a high-tech engine that delivers great value-for-money. This year it's the S6, hot-rod version of the same car, which packs a 420 horsepower twin-turbo V8 wallop and delivers a driving experience reminiscent of a first-year Best New Cars winner (and one of my all-time favorite cars), the Audi RS4. The A7 didn't make last year's list because I didn't think the driving experience delivered on the promises made by the fastback styling, but this year the S7 joins the S6 on the podium -- it's just as potent and a bit better in the corners than the S6. And with prices starting just under $73k for the S6 and $80k for the S7, these Audis are a bargain compared to the competition.