A longtime New Yorker, I am deeply missing the beautiful, messy, glorious humanity of crowding into the concerts, airplanes, museums, bacchanals, and bars that coronavirus has rendered unsafe.

But at least the highway is open.

One of the bright spots in this most surreal year has been the fact that, for those of us interested in cars—for that matter, interested in any escape whatsoever, however brief—we can still get in our vehicles and drive.

And while the automotive shows and glitzy world debuts that traditionally launch new products have stalled, that doesn’t mean car manufacturers aren’t selling new products. Far from it. They punched back with everything from unveilings via livestream video feeds, as  Lamborghini did for its Huracán STO, to one-on-one journalist viewings in airplane hangars at near-abandoned airports, as General Motors did with its new Hummer EV. 

I’ve driven 66 (by my count) of those new vehicles so far in 2020: such coupes as the Chevrolet Corvette, SUVs like the Genesis GV80 and Land Rover Defender, convertibles such as the Lamborghini Huracán RWD Spyder, wagons like the Audi RS6 Avant, and even some motorcycles and electric bicycles.

Plenty were forgettable. (More about those in an upcoming column.) Some, like the Volvo XC90 and Audi A6 Allroad achieved the right things: Thoughtful design, fair pricing, intuitive technology, and performance that live up to whatever their manufacturer has promise in advertising and marketing. A very few, including the delicious Corvette C8 and decadent Ferrari Roma, also added to the mix of sex-appeal, thrilling driving excitement, and engineering references that show the cars knows their places in the brand’s future—and history.

One or two cars each year combine all that and add a certain X factor that makes them memorable for generations. Scroll down for the ultimate winner. But first, here are the best in their class of what I drove in 2020.

Best Grand Tourer: Ferrari Roma  
The Roma is the car that made me the happiest to be around, inside and out, all year. And although it ultimately didn’t win top spot, since it’s arguably not as all-around practical, nor as affordable, as that just-as-thrilling-to-drive car below, it’s nearly perfect—and the most beautiful Ferrari to roll off the line since forever. It marries impeccable elegance with 612-horsepower performance, refreshingly intuitive technology, and enough creature comforts to make it doable on a daily basis.

Best Electric Vehicle: Polestar 2
The Porsche Taycan may have been the one car I most wanted to drive this year, but the Polestar 2 wins the electric beat. Impressively quick and nimble for about a third of the cost, the 402 hp, all-wheel-drive hatchback offers the solidity of Volvo safety systems, an ingeniously unique cabin, and a body style that combines the practicality and ride height of a small crossover SUV with a front end that looks like a sedan. Driving range: 233 miles.

Best Family SUV: Volvo XC90
In a segment laden with boring appliances, the XC90 manages to be quietly elegant, memorable, and moreover, fun to drive. Plus its values are applicable for many families: sustainable materials, laudable efficiency ratings, beaucoup safety systems, and sensible entertainment technology.

Best Monster SUV: Cadillac Escalade
The king of American SUVs is not for the faint of heart: It’s nearly five inches longer than the previous generation, and the same ride height as a UPS truck, although with a new independent rear suspension that improves handling. In the maximalist, upscale SUV market (the cabin of one I drove was covered in glamorous, delightfully impractical white leather), you could spend a half-million dollars on the exceptional Rolls-Royce Cullinan or a fraction of that on the redesigned Escalade.

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