Preconceived notions be damned – these cars totally defied our expectations.
10.) Scion FR-S
In a world of boring Camrys, and RAV4s the FR-S proved that the people at Toyota still know how to make a genuine sports car. Well, at least with some help from Subaru. Sometimes manufactures actually listen to enthusiasts.
Suggested By: 427CID, Photo Credit: Elsa Blaine
9.) Citroën AX
For reader JayHova, the Citroën AX was the car that made him see the value in a great shitbox. It might be cheap, but it's light and surprisingly good to drive. You don't need to spend a lot to have a lot of fun.
Suggested By: JayHova, Photo Credit: Citroën
8.) Ford Fusion
A midsize sedan from Ford that's handsome and good to drive? We didn't think that was possible until Ford debuted the current Fusion – now all they've got to do is make an ST version and all of our dreams will come true.
Suggested By: Diesel, Photo Credit: Ford
7.) Dacia Duster
The American stereotype of European cars is that they are universally better than cars from anywhere else – this isn't exactly true. Check out a Dacia Duster and you'll find new lows for refinement, quiet, and power.
Suggested By: JimZ, Photo Credit: Dacia
6.) Chevrolet Volt
Launched when everyone had lost faith in GM, the Volt defied expectations and was a great, forward thinking car.
Suggested By: 55_mercury, Photo Credit: Nicole Yeary
5.) Porsche 911
How can a sports car with all of its weight over the rear axle be so good? It makes no sense until you drive one. Then you wonder why it's ever done any other way.
Suggested By: Corz, Photo Credit: Antti
4.) Subaru Legacy
A car doesn't have to be outwardly exciting to be great, as ncasolowork2 realized with his Subaru Legacy.
" It has no guts, but it gets 32mpg on the highway and 27mpg in the city driving I do. There's enough leg room for someone 6'4" to comfortably sit behind me when I'm driving and I'm 6' tall. The trunk seems like a bottomless pit. Oh and it has AWD which is great in the Michigan winters especially the last one where we had more than 150" of snow and temperatures so cold none of it melted.
$22,000 for all that function and economy? Yes thank you."
Suggested By: ncasolowork2, Photo Credit: Subaru
3.) Tesla Model S
Before the Model S electric cars were kind of a joke – interesting, but not really remarkable outisde of the fact that they were electric. The Model S blew everyone away by not just being a great electric car, but a great car.
Suggested By: Shane Elliott, Photo Credit: Steve Jurvetson
2.) C7 Corvette
Corvettes always costed about half as much as 911s and in many ways were only half as good. With the C7, the Corvette is just as good as its European rivals and still costs half as much. America can make a genuine world beater.
Suggested By: DennyCraneDennyCraneDennyCrane, Photo Credit: Chevrolet
1.) BMW i8
The i8 showed car enthusiasts that the future isn't something to be feared, but embraced wholeheartedly. The future is here, and it's cool as hell.
Suggested By: SennaMP4, Photo Credit: BMW
Welcome back to Answers of the Day - our daily Jalopnik feature where we take the best ten responses from the previous day's Question of the Day and shine it up to show off. It's by you and for you, the Jalopnik readers. Enjoy!
Top Photo Credit: Chevrolet