By Jeff Sabatani, Autoblog.com - Ward's AutoWorld is well known for its annual "10 Best Engines" list, but the trade publication has been compiling a second list for interiors for a few years now. Formerly known as the "Interior of the Year" competition, Ward's rebranded the list last year, naming the coolest cockpits under the "10 Best Interiors" moniker.This year's winners are a relatively diverse lot, with hatchbacks, sedans and crossovers all making the list. While Ward's lists them in alphabetical order rather than crowning a single winner, we're choosing to present them with the lowest starting Canadian MSRP first:
- Hyundai Accent ($13,199)
- Chevrolet Sonic ($14,495)
- Dodge Dart (TBA)
- Volkswagen Beetle ($21,975)
- Mazda CX-5 ($22,995)
- Hyundai Azera (2012 model year not sold in Canada)
- Chrysler 300 Luxury ($42,095)
- Infiniti JX35 ($44,900)
- Range Rover Evoque ($46,995)
- Audi A7 ($68,600)
The first thing we noticed then is that while fully half the models carrying base sticker prices under $25,000, Ward's was clearly not testing the base models of any of these vehicles. The Chevy Sonic, for instance, starts nearly $5,000 below the price of the car Ward's drove. Even so, that half of the cars on the list could be legitimately called "affordable" is impressive.
Ward's says 40 vehicles qualified for the competition by having "new or significantly improved interiors", and while 13 of those were luxury vehicles, they only made up half of the winners. Ward's says it judged the interiors based on design, fit-and-finish, comfort, ergonomics, safety, material selection, overall value, aethestics, and human-machine interface.
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