10 Cars with Cool Wheels for Customers on a Roll

2017 Audi A4

Today’s industry contains a cornucopia of cars with cool wheels, from subcompacts to full-size sedans, and we’re not talking about just expensive sports cars and exotic luxury vehicles. Sure, we have some of those here, but Autobytel’s customer-focused staff also was sure to select a few more mainstream choices, to show how easy it can be to roll on down the highway on high-fashion wheels.

2016 Chevrolet Camaro

Designers have furnished many of the modern-day muscle cars with cool wheels, and the 2016 Chevrolet Camaro is no exception. Indeed, in its Camaro SS configuration, the car offers an exceptional set of 20-inch aluminum wheels with a low-gloss black finish and a simple, yet distinctive five-spoke design. Each spoke looks a bit like two wedges that have been pushed together sharp-end first, with one wedge rotated by 90 degrees; with a little imagination, you can also see that, intentionally or not, the outline of each spoke is similar to that of a piston, perhaps as a visual echo of those found in the car’s 6.2-liter V8. The wheels do add $1,995 to the bottom line, but as a reminder, that car is priced under $40K even when shod with those fancy wheels, and for that cost, you get 455 horsepower and 455 lb.-ft. of torque in the most powerful Camaro SS to ever earn those letters.

Photo by Joni Gray

2016 Ford Shelby GT350R Mustang

Yes, there are lots of cars with cool wheels out there, yet except for the occasional supercar, there’s just one that rides on carbon fiber straight from the factory: the 526-horsepower 2016 Ford Shelby GT350R Mustang, which includes said wheels in its $61,295 MSRP. Now, as the “most track-capable” production Mustang ever released to consumers from the Ford corral, this next-gen Shelby shows off those 19-inch staggered-width wheels mostly for performance purposes. After all, their carbon-fiber construction helps cut about 60 lbs. of unsprung weight from the car’s total—as compared to the 2016 Shelby GT350—while upgrading dynamics in the process. So, when it comes to appearance, even though Ford did go to the effort of developing a proprietary new method for applying a high-gloss black finish to the carbon fiber, and their seven-spoke design does perfectly spotlight the car’s hi-po braking components, the wheels themselves are more notable for how they’re made than for how they look.

Photo by Ford

2016 Nissan Versa Note

Nor does it take a lot of cold hard cash to find cars with cool wheels. For example, the 2016 Nissan Versa Note provides a particularly interesting wheel design for its “sporty” SR trim despite a sticker price of $17,980. The 16-inch aluminum-alloy wheels are described by the automaker as displaying a “5-split spoke” appearance, but the actual “split” is done in a way that creates a multi-dimensional, “sliced-off” effect; and that’s further enhanced by the use of a machined finish that contrasts with the gloss gray color closer to the wheel hubs. As a result, and from the right distance, it seems as if the asymmetric, vaguely triangular split-spoke shapes are supporting the wheel rim even as they’re “floating” unattached from those hubs. The car additionally caters to the sporting crowd with a dark headlight treatment, mirror-mounted turn-signal indicators and an aero-style body kit with side sills and rear spoiler. (2015 model pictured.)

2016 Honda Civic

There’s been a clear trend toward introducing more cars with cool wheels in recent years, and the 2016 Honda Civic is a case in point. The all-new 10th-generation model launched the sedan model with not-unattractive wheel covers in the base model and—more importantly for our purposes—three detailed wheel designs for its EX and Touring trims. The EX proper is given 16-inch alloy wheels with a deconstructed split-spoke look in which the spokes seem to be wrapping around the hubs slightly, for dynamic, on-the-go effect even when the car is standing still. Moving up to the turbocharged EX-T and premium EX-L means 17-inch alloy wheels, this time with a multi-surfaced, multi-element appearance. Finally, the range-topping Touring model also wears 17-inchers, but with its own intricate spoke style that relies on five doubled-spokes per wheel, with each spoke split into a narrow, black element and a thicker, machine-finished section.

Photo by Benjamin Hunting

2016 Toyota Corolla

If you’re searching for cars with cool wheels, you also should keep your eyes out for special-edition models, since automakers often dress those entries with wilder wheels than available for their more traditional trims. For proof, take a gander at the 2016 Toyota Corolla Special Edition. Designers have delivered a 17-inch gloss-black alloy wheel design for that car, complete with a multi-multi-spoke setup that overlays five V-shaped dual spokes over a star pattern. Paired with the Special Edition’s “Absolutely Red” exterior, along with a black cabin with red accents, red contrast stitching and push-button ignition, the overall vibe is relatively athletic—and stickered from $20,635. Also catching the attention of Autobytel’s design experts were the wheels on the Corolla S. On that model, a dual seven-spoke design is given an added touch of interest by plane surfaces placed between the spokes near the wheel rims.

Photo by Megan Green

2016 BMW M6 Gran Coupe

Although our quest for cars with cool wheels won’t travel too far down the rabbit hole of high-end accessories setups, we are going to shine our light on the 2016 BMW M6 Gran Coupe, from the Bavarians’ in-house performance team. That group, as you’d expect, equips its entries with M-branded wheels, and the standard setup for the M6 Gran Coupe—comprised of 20-inch light alloys in the “Double Spoke style 433 M” design—is a high point. Helping matters, those primary double spokes each slot between prominent, machine-finished “receptacles” on the rims of the wheels. Up close, the play of different dimensions and surfaces provides plenty of visual interest, while from further away, the spokes can remind you of large chain links. The M6 Gran Coupe grants drivers an unforgettable driving experience, too, thanks to a 4.4-liter TwinPower turbo V8 that serves up 552 horsepower, 502 lb.-ft. of torque, and 0-60 times of 4.1 seconds.

Photo by BMW Media

2016 Chrysler 200

The 2016 Chrysler 200 claims to be “inspired by iconic American design,” which is something that’s evident right down to the car’s wheel selection, and especially the polished, 18-inch cast-aluminum rollers offered as a $595 option on the 200C trim. The wheels have a certain throwback feel to them that’s based on their seven-element Y-spoke design, yet what’s most intriguing is a sort of optical illusion: From some angles, the bold Y spokes come to the foreground, and from others, there’s a seven-petalled flower formed by the negative space between the Y’s; a snowflake effect is apparent as well. As is true with other cars with cool wheels, however, these are only available with certain configurations, in this instance the V6-powered 200C. Yet it’s also worth noting that the new Chrysler 300S Alloy Edition wears the same wheel design, but painted in a striking Dark Bronze finish and furnished at 20 inches.

Photo by Chrysler

2017 Audi A4

Owners who prefer to have more spokes on display will find a sharp 10-spoke design available for the 2017 Audi A4. In fact, the four-rings brand furnishes two such looks, with our first choice being the 18-inchers available at an $800 premium on the A4 Premium. With that setup, the spokes seem surprisingly substantial and, because of the shape of their machined outermost surface, look somewhat like the blades of a straight-edged razor. The other 10-spoke wheels—in the Audi Sport “10-V-spoke” style—create a design that seems like a 20-spoke setup at first glance but, on closer inspection, reveals itself to be made of 10 v-shaped elements of alternating thicknesses. Oh, and to celebrate the debut of the new A4, Audi is selling a limited run of  “First Edition” cars with cool wheels, with owners welcoming 18-inch Audi Sport “5-arm pylon” wheels with black-and-silver-finished spokes and sharped-edged geometrical shapes.

2016 Hyundai Veloster

A thorough refreshing for the new model year has resulted in more radical design cues for the 2016 Hyundai Veloster, along with consideration as one of the top cars with cool wheels. The standard Veloster starts things off with 17-inch alloy wheels and a very successful implementation of the basic five-spoke star pattern: Five blocky metal spokes bloom from small narrow stems near the hubs, and then designers integrated a thin-armed dark star on top of that, in a way that makes each spoke element look (a little) like precision calipers. The Turbo and Turbo R-Spec sport a variation on the star appearance, leveraging two levels of differently finished V-shaped elements that can be read in a number of different ways, and the performance-oriented Veloster Rally rolls on 20-inch Rays wheels that serve up both a 15-spoke pattern and a 5-lb. drop in weight—per wheel—versus other Velosters.

Photo by Megan Green

2016 Kia Optima

The 2016 Kia Optima completes our list of cars with cool wheels, backed by the brand’s hallmark flair for design and two separate 18-inch alloy-wheel designs. Installed as standard equipment for the up-level SX and SX Limited are machine-finished tire holders with a twist: The wheels can be considered 10-spoke units, but the overall design is created by “overlaying” two very different five-element patterns, one of which relies on spokes with an unusual flange that grows out toward the rim. The Launch Edition—remember, the 2016 Optima kicks off a new generation for Kia—also garners dramatic 18-inch alloy wheels that combine five thick arms with thin-walled, round-angled, polygonal shapes on their trailing edges; with those shapes nestled into the negative space between the arms, without filling it, the end product is pretty much unprecedented for the brand.

Photo by Megan Green