10 Highly Sophisticated Cars

2016 Toyota Mirai Fuel Cell Vehicle ・ Photo by Toyota

For this run-down of 10 sophisticated cars, we’re going to include some SUVs. Because taking a heavy all-wheel drive vehicle with quite high ground clearance and giving it on-road manners more in keeping with smaller and lighter sedans takes some really sophisticated technology. Sophistication isn’t reserved just for advanced hardware, though. Nor is it merely another word for “posh.” There are designs and approaches that require a certain level of discernment plus a degree of enlightened taste, as well as a willingness to spend considerable amounts of money. This is rarefied air we’re moving around in, and sophistication never comes cheap.

2017 Acura NSX

A new NSX has been a long time coming. Now we know why. Perhaps Acura thought it would have been too easy to churn out a regular mid-engined sports machine. So the company made it a hybrid. But stay awake, because this is about as far removed from a Prius as it’s possible to get. In the mid-mounted engine bay is a 3.5-liter V6 that uses twin turbochargers. The NSX has no less than three electric motors on board. A 9-speed automatic transmission sends 573 hp and 476 lb-ft of torque to all four wheels. Managing all this requires some real sophistication. With a few options, the NSX can hit $200,000, but for comparison's sake, Porsche’s limited-edition 918 Spyder hybrid supercar was closer to $900,000.

Photo by Acura

2017 BMW i8

Sports cars used to be loud and thirsty. They had to have big horsepower and lots of cylinders to be taken seriously. To upend such perceptions takes brilliant thinking and engineering. The i8 only has three cylinders, displacing a total of 1.5 liters. But it’s not a Ford Fiesta in fancy clothing. It might well be the future of fun. The i8 uses a plug-in hybrid drivetrain with two electric motors for a respectable output of 357 hp. And the body is super-light — a carbon fiber shell over an aluminum tub. The EPA estimates a combined miles-per-gallon equivalent of 76 MPGe. Yet it’s fast (standstill to 60 mph in four seconds) and handles like a BMW. One intriguing option is laser-based headlights.

Photo by BMW

2017 Bugatti Chiron

It’s probably impossible to find something that’s not sophisticated about the Chiron. No doubt the tire valve caps are made of titanium or something equally esoteric. Leather and aluminum adorn a plush cabin. The body is mostly carbon fiber, which is still considered an exotic material. Ten radiators, 16 cylinders and a quartet of turbochargers are virtually at the finest edge of what internal combustion and forced induction can accomplish, as this 8.0-liter engine develops 1,500 hp, making the Chiron the world’s most powerful production car. It’s also the fastest, with a claimed top speed of 261 mph. This is helped along by active aerodynamics, where not only the spoilers adjust their angles automatically, the ride height is also continually fine-tuned.

Photo by Bugatti

2017 Ferrari 488 Spider

When you’re paying more than a quarter of a million bucks for a car, it had better be this sophisticated. We could have mentioned the fixed-roof 488 GTB, but this version with a folding hard top is just as rigid, fast and dynamic. Which is quite a feat. Apart from a Wet driving mode, the kindest setting is Sport. It goes up to Race for track action. Ferrari deploys a lot of expertise gained from Formula One, the technical pinnacle of motorsport. The 488 Spider has an electronic limited-slip differential, an adaptive suspension, and 660 hp. This is one of the best cars the company has ever made — and Ferrari’s whole reputation is built on making great cars.

Photo by Ferrari

2017 Land Rover Range Rover

As the ultimate luxury SUV, the Range Rover embodies several shades of meaning when using the term “sophisticated.” Fine leather upholstery and craftsmen-fitted wood trims within a well-designed cabin fit for royalty make up just one aspect. There’s also the super-comfortable air suspension with adjustable ride heights. Plus the Terrain Response system, because this is still a Land Rover and peerless all-wheel-drive ability is a prerequisite. If anyone really did want to take this expensive and opulent ride into the wilderness, the Range Rover will convey them there and back with class and capability. Just as it would on the highway.

Photo by Land Rover

2017 Mercedes-Benz E-Class

Get out of the car and park it using a smartphone app. This is how advanced the autonomous driving function is in the all-new-for-2017 E-Class midsize premium sedan. It’s also wired up to communicate with the so-called “cloud,” exchanging information on traffic and road obstacles. Should circumstances ever go so horribly wrong that the E-Class is involved in an accident, the stereo system will emit pink noise to protect occupants’ hearing. Some silicon-based features are only usable in Europe so far, but it’s surely only a matter of time before American buyers can enjoy them too. On top of that, the new E-Class is spacious, luxurious and a pleasure to drive.

Photo by Mercedes-Benz

2017 Rolls-Royce Wraith

Sometimes all it takes is one specific item to illustrate the kind of attention to detail going into the most sophisticated cars. In the Wraith, the automatic transmission is connected to the satellite navigation. The car knows where it is and what’s coming up. If a hill and/or a curve is imminent, it selects the appropriate gear itself. But of course, that shift will be virtually imperceptible. It takes 450 man-hours to build a Wraith. Some of that time is spent book-matching veneers of exotic woods. The sound system is sourced from Naim. As an indication of how well-regarded this product is, the Queen of England gave the company’s founder a medal.

Photo by Rolls Royce

2017 Tesla Model X

This is the first all-electric SUV. Perhaps better described as a crossover, or maybe even a wagon with a sloping roof and ground clearance that’s slightly better than a regular car’s. But it does have seating for seven and all-wheel drive. Plus those futuristic-looking “falcon wing” rear doors, which were a challenge for Tesla to perfect and produce. But when your other company sends rockets into space, then it’s almost taken for granted that such issues would be overcome. Because it’s a Tesla, it has a high-tech dashboard, a high level of autonomy, breathtaking acceleration and a range of more than 230 miles, along with the use of the company’s own supercharger network crossing the country.

Photo by Tesla

2017 Toyota Mirai

A Toyota on a list of sophisticated cars. Who’d have thought? The Mirai, though, is far from the usual mainstream waters where other Toyotas paddle. This is a fuel cell car, powered by hydrogen and with water vapor as its sole emission. The technology has been around for more than a decade, but putting it on sale has been a major step. Unfortunately for 49 states, the Mirai is available just in California, because that’s the only place where anything resembling a hydrogen supply infrastructure exists. Without getting too techy, the gas passes through a special cell where a chemical reaction creates electricity, which powers the car. About the size of a Camry, the Mirai is the best part of $60,000.

Photo by Toyota

2017 Volvo XC90

Take your pick of sophisticated elements in the XC90, the newly released second generation of Volvo’s SUV crossover. The crystal glass gearshift knob, perhaps. Maybe the cool and elegantly designed interior with smart ergonomics and even smarter leather. Or the power and clarity of the optional Bowers & Wilkins audio system. Then again, the T8 Twin Engine version piles on the modernism with an engine that’s both supercharged and turbocharged, then linked with an electric motor and a lithium-ion battery to become the only plug-in hybrid 7-seater crossover on the market. The electric-only range is 13 miles, when only the rear wheels are driven, but the T8 has all-wheel drive in its arsenal of seven driving modes.

Photo by Volvo