Best moments of 2023: the Autocar team's motoring highlights

Witnessing the Jeep Avenger triumph car of the year, admiring a warehouse filled with Skoda's most iconic cars and driving a Cisitalia 202 are conscionable 3 of the highlights Autocar's writers person travel up with for 2023. 

In yet different twelvemonth of caller cars, caller cultures, caller manufacturers and caller methods of propulsion, 1 happening has remained changeless - the elemental pleasures we get from the cars and the communities that situation them. Read connected for the details of our favourite moments. 

Matt Saunders: I person motorsport don and regular Autocar scholar Jonathan Palmer to convey for my motoring item of 2023. It was his proposition to stitchery unneurotic the top automotive exponents of thrust prime you tin presently buy, on with thing older, and instrumentality a considered presumption of the authorities of the creation of thrust quality.

It took america a mates of days by the clip each of the driving, video and photos were done, and the archetypal of those 2 days mightiness person been the greyest and wettest that springtime successful the Brecon Beacons has yet delivered – and yet the juncture was inactive brilliant.

We had everything from a caller Rolls-Royce Phantom VIII to a 1960s Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III involved, arsenic good arsenic a Bentley Flying Spur and a Range Rover. We had input from the backmost spot courtesy of JP himself (a self-confessed ride-quality obsessive) and from dynamics engineering advisor Steve Randle; we had immoderate truly investigating Welsh roads astatine our disposal; and we had a astonishment winner: the excellent, and magnificently plush, BMW i7.

As Palmer turned up successful his Agusta helicopter, I knew we were successful for a peculiar mates of days. Despite the weather, I wasn’t disappointed. Thanks again, JP.

Steve Cropley: Forget cars and journeys: my item was a travel to Milton Keynes and Red Bull Racing to walk 90 minutes with Adrian Newey, 1 of my 2 astir intimately held heroes (the different is Jim Clark, the Lotus-driving F1 maestro of the 1960s).

Newey is good known arsenic that intense-looking bald bloke connected TV who seldom speaks but evidently masterminds everything bully astir Red Bull F1. I spot parallels betwixt Newey and Clark: some person oregon had a mystical capableness to bash their jobs amended than the opposition, immoderate the absorption chucked astatine them.

Newey talks with condemnation astir the value of teamwork but has repeatedly proved his idiosyncratic brilliance by masterminding winners wherever helium has landed, beryllium it March, Williams, McLaren oregon Red Bull.

But bash you cognize the astir fantastic thing? Like galore of us, Newey was brought up by a garage-obsessed dada who messed with Lotus Elans and Mini Cooper Ss. He simply had the genius to instrumentality it further.

Murray Scullion: My archetypal travel to Maranello has to beryllium up there. The superb happening astir the Emilia-Romagna portion is that to non-car enthusiasts it’s portrayed arsenic rustic and pretty, but heavy down america car people cognize that it’s fuelled by ace unleaded, with Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini and Pagani each wrong spitting region of each other.

They bleed Rosso Corsa retired there. I mean, determination are 2 Ferrari museums. For the involvement of balance, I’ll spell connected grounds present to accidental that whoever curated the smaller Ferrari 1 has a precise selective representation astir Enzo, and the Lamborghini 1 is fundamentally a showroom.

But the full-fat Ferrari depository is jammed afloat of uncommon and precise peculiar metal, and erstwhile an hr the full spot turns acheronian and they task a abbreviated documentary astir Il Commendatore. And you basal determination betwixt a Daytona and 250 GTO conscionable successful implicit awe.

Matt Prior: Yes, my happiest representation of 2023 is driving a sub-£20,000 car with little than 100bhp, for which you tin convey the roads on, and near, the Wild Atlantic Way – a coastal way astir the westbound of Ireland.

There are 1600 miles of them (plus offshoots), and they are immoderate of the top roads I’ve driven. It was for a diagnostic successful the 26 July contented utilizing a Kia Picanto, my favourite modern tiny car.

The thrust was specified a hoot, successful fact, that I went backmost connected my motorcycle a mates of months aboriginal and it was amended inactive (but it wasn’t enactment and I wasn’t successful a car, truthful it doesn’t count).

Jonathan Bryce: A mates of years ago, earlier I became Autocar's editorial apprentice, the thought of driving any Alpina would person seemed to maine arsenic far-fetched arsenic uncovering doughnuts that marque you thin. On 29 June that changed.

A generous Matt Prior agreed to lend maine his D3 S long-termer for a job, which meant I got 1 for 3 days – 3 days that turned retired to beryllium the champion of 2023. Why?

It wasn’t its pace, grace, space, oregon fantabulous bass (all of which person been extensively covered). It was thing you can’t smell, perceive oregon touch.

I’ve grown up with the BMW 3 Series, and it’s specified a portion of my intelligence furnishings that I person an iDrive controller for a brain.

The sentimental worth of being astatine the helm of a car made adjacent amended by a discreetly tasteful institution is not to beryllium sniffed astatine and was, without doubt, a imagination travel true.

Will Rimell: Standing connected a agelong of Tarmac successful the mediate of the Czech countryside, I knew past and determination this would request a spot of topping – and adjacent a passenger-seat blast up Goodwood’s celebrated elevation couldn’t dethrone it.

Why? Surrounded by 7 of Skoda’s astir iconic cars, from the 1905 L&K Voiturette to the 1994 Felicia, and with the keys to each successful my hand, this was a beauteous unbeatable ‘day astatine the office’. I jumped successful 1 aft the other, experiencing the brand’s emergence from double-clutch gearboxes to afloat integrative interiors.

A standout was the chrome-clad Popular Monte Carlo. For those who person work the feature, you volition cognize the escapade started with a travel to the firm’s adjacent treasure-filled museum, itself bursting with an unthinkable unchangeable of icons. 

James Attwood: I’m inactive not definite I bask visiting China – it’s a sensory overload, the taste differences are immense and the imposing organization beingness is perpetually unsettling – but it’s ever fascinating. And a sojourn to this year’s Shanghai centrifugal amusement was a aureate accidental to delve into the still-baffling satellite of the Chinese car industry.

The centrifugal amusement whitethorn beryllium an endangered taxon successful Europe, but Shanghai’s lawsuit is thriving. Hall aft hallway was packed with ambitious home brands showing disconnected each mode of tech-heavy, innovative machines.

And determination was existent variety, astatine slightest erstwhile you waded done seemingly hundreds of amorphous premium electrical SUVs from seemingly hundreds of amorphous premium EV brands. Innovation, too: I didn’t cognize the satellite needed a tiny metropolis EV with a dashboard to which you tin instrumentality Lego, but I’m present gladsome it exists.

How galore of those brands and cars volition scope the UK isn’t clear. But the Shanghai amusement is simply a existent glimpse into the aboriginal of the manufacture – 1 that’s ne'er dull and ever fascinating.

Charlie Martin: I astir didn’t – astir couldn’t – spell done with it. I’d waited acold excessively agelong for my driving test, having searched six months for an disposable instructor, and held retired different six months for a trial date.

Knowing it would beryllium astatine slightest different six months of delays if I past failed, I suffered a gargantuan bout of anxiousness – and seeming amnesia – connected exam day. There was, astatine 1 stage, superior doubts implicit whether I would beryllium harmless to spell on.

But thing unthinkable happened erstwhile my examiner yet climbed into the car: I drove. And I conscionable kept driving. A nostalgic chat astir their aged MGB surely helped to enactment the concern of driving to the backmost of my mind, due to the fact that I don’t retrieve making a azygous conscious effort connected the full journey.

It each happened to simply click unneurotic nether the pressure, specified that I passed with zero minors. I’m told my effect to the examiner was succinct: “Jesus Christ!”

Felix Page: It could truthful easy person been a debased point. In fact, for a bully hr oregon so, it was down determination with the worst of them.

Photographer Max Edleston and I had spent truthful agelong moving a Volkswagen ID Buzz up and down the Cornish coastline – astatine -7deg C and connected fast, range-sapping roads – that its remaining artillery capableness had trickled down to conscionable 12%, and we had 80 miles to spell earlier the adjacent accelerated charger.

Cue a frantic Google and a teeth-clenching crawl a fewer miles down the roadworthy to the long-stay car parkland astatine Newquay airport, wherever our temper was swiftly worsened by an outdated and uncommunicative 50kW charger that we couldn’t coax into immoderate semblance of life.

But salvation arrived successful the signifier of a cheery Mk1 Nissan Leaf owner, acquainted with the quirks of said device, who helped america plug successful and kindly waited his crook portion we lapped up our life-saving electrons.

It was 1 of those uncommon moments of heart-warming collaboration that reminded maine motoring is simply a assemblage activity, and successful galore ways the modulation to electrical cars – which remains an intimidating imaginable for galore – could beryllium truthful overmuch slicker if everyone was arsenic diligent and adjuvant arsenic our antheral successful the Nissan.

It was cold, mind, truthful we near him to his concern portion the Buzz topped up and went wrong the terminal for a beverage and a sandwich, which was nice. Maybe we should person offered him one, reasoning astir it…  

Mark Tisshaw: I’m not a gambling person, but it’s bully to backmost a winner. From my archetypal thrust of the caller Jeep Avenger precocious past year, it felt similar the outstanding campaigner for 2023’s Car of the Year award, arsenic improbable arsenic it seemed astatine the time.

It made it onto the seven-car shortlist for COTY astatine the eleventh hr past proceeded to triumph astatine a canter arsenic votes from 57 jurors crossed 23 countries led to it beating the Volkswagen ID Buzz to the coveted crown.

The imaginable of a Jeep winning Car of the Year had agelong felt absurd: let’s look it, determination person been truthful fewer Jeeps you would person been apt to urge arsenic roadworthy cars. Yet the Avenger is the archetypal Jeep to beryllium designed, engineered and built successful Europe, and it shows.

It shares galore traits with the precise champion tiny cars from history: large proportions, a caller and amusive exterior, a clever interior and a suppleness successful the mode it drives. I’m present moving 1 connected the Autocar semipermanent fleet implicit the adjacent fewer months, truthful this is 1 2023 item that volition rotation implicit into adjacent year, too. 

Illya Verpraet: Opportunities to thrust prototypes tin beryllium frustrating: your clip down the instrumentality is often precise constricted and not wholly typical of what mightiness beryllium to come. But connected juncture they tin consciousness similar uncovering your hidden Christmas presents: breathtaking and tantalising.

In March I went to Austria to thrust the caller Mini Cooper E astir a twelvemonth earlier it was owed to spell connected sale. The cars were inactive precise overmuch prototypes, with covered dashboards and glitchy screens, but they were beauteous spot connected successful the mode they drove: zippy, agile, throttle-adjustable and mostly a batch of amusive connected the road.

I deliberation it would person been the runaway victor successful our ‘fun EVs’ test. And past they fto america escaped connected a small trial track, wherever the front-drive Mini would spell arsenic sideways arsenic immoderate rear-wheel-drive car. Bliss.

We’re each looking for a spot of reassurance that determination volition beryllium amusive to beryllium had successful the electrical era, and this was arsenic bully arsenic anything. Now I’ve conscionable got to hold different fewer months to thrust a finished one. Hurry up already…

Richard Lane: During a sojourn to Pininfarina HQ, I was fixed the keys to a Cisitalia 202 – a instrumentality of specified taste value that it was the archetypal car inducted into the Museum of Modern Art’s collection, successful 1972.

What a privilege to descent down that filigree and ivory Bakelite wheel. Only 170 oregon truthful of these fantastic small GT-style coupés were made, starting successful 1947, but the visionary coachwork means they could conscionable arsenic easy hark from 1960.

The information is that existent super-GT heroes specified arsenic the Ferrari 812 Superfast and Aston Martin DBS are singing from a hymn expanse archetypal written by the 76-year-old, 1089cc, 55bhp, 780kg Cisitalia, and of people Battista Farina, who styled the car. A drawback of the plan being truthful up of its clip is that the driving acquisition feels anachronistically old.

Even by historical standards the 202 isn’t the astir cohesive, but it isn’t bad, and with weapons-grade charm, it hardly matters.

Kris Culmer: After years of distant admiration, I yet got the accidental this twelvemonth to thrust an Alpine A110, connected the SMMT’s yearly media day. I didn’t halt giggling oregon saying things similar “mad” the full mode astir Millbrook’s Alpine handling course, and neither did lawman quality ed Will Rimell beside maine – and thing changed erstwhile we swapped seats. 

The Alpine was everything I had hoped for and expected. I was astir arsenic excited astir doing the aforesaid successful the Toyota GR86, having had the clip of my beingness successful our Subaru BRZ long-termer immoderate years ago.

Equally, it didn’t disappoint for old-school thrills. And yet neither of these cars is the 1 I astir enjoyed driving successful 2023. 

Instead, it was a mostly forgotten, decade-old supermini. What amusive I had with that Mazda 2, nether the spell of its large, rev-hungry atmospheric engine, its Ford Fiesta-like tendency to beryllium cornered, its compactness, its deficiency of touchscreen and, astir of all, its fabulous manual – yes, manual! – gearbox. Never change, Mazda.

Alex Wolstenholme: In April I utilized my ain wealth to bargain a car for the archetypal time: a 1992 Rover Mini with astir 149,000 miles connected the clock.

When my A-levels were over, my person and I started a two-week roadworthy travel done Wales and the Lake District. In the extremity we covered 1500 miles, astir of which were spent somewhat damp due to the fact that Mini’s Webasto extortion was leaking, making it rather hard to adust retired soggy camping kit.

Other than that, the Mini dealt amazingly good with everything we threw astatine it: it got stuck successful mud, was ragged up upland roads and slept and cooked in, yet was faultlessly reliable and helped marque 2023 the champion summertime yet.