Most Fun-to-Drive Car of the Year: 2018 Nominees

If fun equals dirty, the F-150 Raptor — winner of our Best Pickup of 2017 award — might just be your spirit animal. This truck is purpose-built for off-roading, but it's more than a one-trick pony. Off road, its robust gearing and generous suspension travel — 13 inches in the front and 13.9 inches in the rear — make the Raptor a capable rock crawler. On the road, it's seriously quick, with acceleration reminiscent of a Ford SVT Lightning. A 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 produces 450 horsepower and 510 pounds-feet of torque, capably harnessed by a 10-speed automatic transmission. Stab the accelerator from a stop and the Raptor soars off the line.

Near-instant torque makes electric vehicles some of the quickest you can buy, and Chevrolet's compact EV is no exception. The Bolt EV nails both the practical, with its 238 miles of all-electric range, and the fun, with its electric motor that makes 200 horsepower and 266 pounds-feet of torque. Maximum torque is produced right when you step on the gas pedal, so it feels as responsive as a sporty hot hatch, like the Volkswagen Golf GTI. It measures up in the handling department, too; it's agile in corners thanks to wide-set wheels and a low center of gravity that combine to help keep it balanced.

The other nominees made it onto this list for offering green — if unconventional — fun with the 2018 Chevrolet Bolt EV, and extreme off-road thrills with the 2018 Ford F-150 Raptor, but the Golf GTI rises to the top. Volkswagen’s hot hatch checks a lot of boxes and is the most well-rounded of the bunch. Its performance-oriented road manners will keep drivers smiling for miles, and its mix of comfort, refinement and affordability is hard to top in this segment. The 2015 GTI won Cars.com’s $30,000 Cheap Speed Challenge, and for model-year 2018, the hatch continues to be a hoot.