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Gimme-gimme: Test Drive's five favorite vehicles in 2014

James R. Healey
USA TODAY
BMW i8 is stunning, expensive and a ridiculous delight to drive. It's a low-volume model, so get in line.

Busy year for auto intros, and plenty of good ones among them.

In fact, they include some jewels that buzzed up both the mind and the body. They were the ones hard to give back. The ones that would make our shopping list and stand a solid change of parking in our garage.

Not all are the wild ones. Some are plain enough but do what they do with such aplomb, such grace, that they are irresistible. Often, they also are the ones realized with such clear thinking and purpose that they have the power to change the entire auto industry.

And, of course, to jack up a shopper's "want" levels unsustainably high.

Here are our five favorites among 2014's Test Drives.

2014 BMW i8.

It's that gorgeous sleek-mobile with the scissors doors. Wherever you park, the car will empty nearby stores as the curious flock to see the i8.

Base price, $136,500. That's loaded; only options are different interior trims.

Besides deadly sexy, why is it important? Two reasons:

• It's absolutely normal inside – well, normal for a BMW – so it's a very friendly car to drive despite its spaceship persona. A great lesson that "simple" is one definition of elegant.

• It's a remarkable new type of hybrid. There's an electric motor in front and a very hopped-up three-cylinder gas engine in back. Unlike in a regular gas-electric hybrid, the i8's two powerplants aren't connected. Electric drives the front wheels, gas drives the rears, as the car's sensors and computers orchestrate the two for best performance and – yes – fuel economy.

A simply elegant solution. Maybe other car companies will get the message – complicated ain't great.

2015 Ford F-150 pickup.

The body's aluminum, first time on a full-size truck. Cuts 700 pounds or so, Ford says, for better fuel economy, higher payload and towing ratings.

Base price, $26,615. (Figure nearly twice that for the one you probably want.)

There's a nice side benefit. The lighter weight makes it more nimble, and that's not a word often used to describe a full-size pickup.

It's a bold move by Ford. Quit the half-measures and just do it; cut the truck's weight for a number of benefits. We can only take Ford's word for it that it worked out all the bugs of aluminum manufacturing, of course.

It raises the price a bit, no more than $900 on mainstream models, but north of $3,000 on fancy versions. If that doesn't chill sales, then watch other truck makers expand their uses of aluminum.

For owners, it even could mean, in addition to the obvious benefits, fewer parking lot dings, Ford claims.

2015 Ford Mustang.

It's a full remake, intended to have the balanced handling and smaller engine that will give it a fighting chance for sales in Europe and elsewhere overseas.

Base price, $24,425.

But dig out another $1,500 if you want the surprising new four-cylinder engine. That smaller engine is the big deal -- a 2.3-liter four-cylinder with V-8 power ratings: 310 hp, 320 lbs.-ft. It doesn't weigh as much as a V-8, so the Mustang's delightfully responsive in turns.

In fact, that engine -- meant for overseas buyers but part of the U.S. lineup, too -- turns the muscle car into a sporty car, able to chase motorcycles up canyon roads and keep the driver amused at other times as well.

The Euro emphasis required an independent rear suspension, instead of the very old-design solid axle, a Mustang tradition. That, plus better steering and a wider stance, and you wind up with a honey of a machine.

As long as you don't have to sit in the tight back seat.

2015 Volkswagen Jetta TDI.

The initials mean it's a diesel. And we love diesels. Not only do they use less fuel, they drive oh-so-well in American crawl-and-creep traffic.

Lots of low-speed power for smooth going in clogged 'burbs.

Base price, $21,640 (But figure another $3,000 or $4,000 for the features you want.)

The car is refreshed for the 2015 model year, but lightly so; you might not see the changes if somebody doesn't point them out. The new design of the diesel engine deserves the auto industry's overused "all new" designation.

It's VW's newest diesel and boy, VW got this one right. More evidence that the ability to save tons of fuel is in our grasp right now, with a conventional fueling system.

VW sells more passenger-car diesels than any other maker, and even though the conventional wisdom is that Americans won't buy diesels, VW says diesels are picked by about one in five of its total buyers.

2014 Mini Cooper hardtop.

That's the new, bigger one – and while we approve of making the car fit actual humans, the concept of a bigger Mini remains a bit mind-bending.

Base price, $21,500 (after price hike for the 2015 models, which are the ones on sale now.)

The extra size makes the Cooper more a car, less a toy, and provides a more comfortable front seat. Back's still a joke; a place to display nice upholstery, not sit. The coming new four-door version might be a better configuration.

The headline's hiding under the hood: a three-cylinder engine. It's smooth as you please, makes the four-cylinder seem silly, and it sounds like a steroidal symphony.

BMW owns Mini, so it's no mystery how the lowest-price car, Mini, and the exotic, six-figure BMW i8 both use three-bangers.

And that all means buyers are more likely to accept other three-cylinders. Ford's Fiesta offers one already. It and Mini's both are on the latest WardsAuto 10 Best Engines list. Both are meant to use less fuel than bigger, four-cylinder engines while providing stimulating power.

Like the diesel, it's an example of how we can simplify our Eco quest without sacrificing the delightful sensations that accompany a sweet engine. Pretty much have our cake and eat it, too.

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