What are the cars that gave color to the year 2021? All the Auto Review editors weighed in and picked two favorites. This time the choice of editor-in-chief Jaap Peters.
Dacia Sandero
It is logical that you are short of superlatives in a large BMW or Mercedes to describe luxury. But it’s more fun to be surprised by a brand that until recently you associated with Eastern Bloc junk and unsightly Logans. Everything is just right with the new Dacia Sandero.
In all of 2021 I hadn’t driven a car where the balance between modest price and high quality was so good. Even with its appearance, the Sandero does not have to shamefully retreat into a corner. Finally, you laugh at the pump with the very affordable LPG version, if you look at the exorbitant petrol prices.
Jeep Wrangler 4xe
2021 was a year full of strange sensations: quiet streets during an endless lockdown, abandoned cafes, a curfew, masks that could first be taken off and then had to be put on again. But the off-road ride with the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 4xe plug-in hybrid was also memorable.
With its 4WD, low gearing and locking on both axles, it is as always focused on driving where all the other cars have to capitulate. The only thing that now happens is whisper quiet, because the noiseless electric motor can do most of the work without the help of the petrol engine. And so you really only hear birdsong and splashing mud.