After a decade of automakers offering throat-clearing concepts and testing prototypes, the electric-car era has begun — finally! Over the past 12 months, car companies have unveiled more than a dozen new electric vehicles (EVs), from sports cars looking like modified spaceships from the future to Hummer-style electric sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and even a totally carbon-neutral hypercar.

Pininfarina gave us a first drive of the US$2.2 million (RM9.11 million) Battista; Tesla smashed the windows of its Cybertruck. Porsche finally put its foot in the EV ring with the US$185,000 Taycan, and so did Volvo with its sharp, sexy and range-dominating Polestar 1.  

However, electric power is not a cure-all for every luxury brand: Mercedes has said it will delay its electric SUV debut after underperforming sales — and even recalls — those from Audi and Jaguar. Demand in China, the world’s biggest electric-car market, fell by double digits for months after the government scaled back EV subsidies. Harley-Davidson started, then temporarily halted, an electric motorcycle. Also, the Volkswagen (VW) diesel scandal that forced Electrify America, the charging network that will support the Taycan, continues: In July, Audi’s former chief executive officer Rupert Stadler was charged with fraud; last month, German authorities raided VW offices looking for further evidence of wrongdoing.

In Europe, carmakers struggled. Aston Martin in particular struggled to regain its footing after a massively flopped initial public offering … and then created a make-or-break SUV.  

Meanwhile, we saw Ford facing Ferrari again in a true Hollywood blockbuster style. We saw the big-money business rise of the Influencer generation. We saw the obliteration of a 482.8 kilometres per hour (kph) world record. We saw the most controversial non-Porsche that never sold. Also, Ferdinand Piech, who created the Volkswagen AG empire as we know it today, died in Rosenheim, Germany.  

All of this, yes — but still no fully automated, driverless cars. Yet. Check back with VW, BMW and Daimler in about four years for that.

All told, car lovers and driving enthusiasts had plenty to rejoice over this year, having witnessed the birth of some truly exciting, beautiful, fast and powerful cars. They are more intelligent and connected than ever before — the cars, that is. Here are the 11 best vehicles I drove since this time last year. — Bloomberg

Best Italian classic: Ferrari F8 Tributo

This US$270,530 coupe pays fitting tribute to the almost-sacred V8 engines powering the automaker’s most successful cars since its first mid-engine V-8, way back to the 1975 Ferrari 308 GTB. With a 3.9-litre, 711-horsepower engine, a perfect seven-speed gearbox and 568 pound-feet of torque, it is more powerful and efficient than its predecessor, the 488 GTB. The F8 Tributo weighs less than 1360.8kg and is lethally quick: zero to 100kph in 2.9 seconds, with style to spare.

Best town car: Bentley Flying Spur

In an age of lighter, faster and quicker things, sometimes it is nice to slow down, lay back into the coffers of wealth, and enjoy the ride. This US$214,600 Flying Spur allows for that and more. Bentley re-evaluated its iconic marque from the ground up this year, with a new grille, hood ornament, and crystal-cut light-emitting diode (LED) headlights, 22-inch rims and a diamond knurling throughout. The infotainment has been updated, and deep-plunging lambswool carpets and burled walnut panels throughout remain exceptional as ever. It retains the same six-litre twin-turbocharged W12 engine as the Continental grand tourer (GT), with a dual-clutch eight-speed transmission and the biggest iron brakes in the world. That is enough to do a zero to 100kph sprint in 3.7 seconds, with a top speed of 333kph.

Best affordable Brit: Lotus Evora GT

This is the cheapest two-door car on the list, but you can have more fun in it than in others costing twice as much. (It is even more surprising, considering the car comes from a company with a chequered past in the US.) Nonetheless, the US$96,950 Evora GT has a 416 horsepower V6 supercharged engine that wheezes and hums as you drive, and at 1,440kg, it can hit 100kph in 3.8 seconds. (That is not as fast as the Lamborghinis or Ferraris on this list — nor the Bentleys for that matter — but it is a solid number for the price.) Indeed, this is not a perfect car. The interior computers and trimmings need serious updating, but it is exciting to drive, with beautiful and interesting engine notes, a spacious interior and a perfect short-shifting, six-speed manual transmission. Four drive modes can be activated via a dashboard switch: Sport and Race are particularly fun, increasing throttle response and allowing a finer degree of control over the car.

Best hybrid, period: Polestar 1

Consider this the sleeper hit of the year. Volvo’s luxury sibling brand, Polestar, released a US$156,500 plug-in hybrid with the longest driving range on the market today: some 125.5km on pure electric charge. (Even the Volvo S60 and S90 hybrids are able to muster only 35.4km and 33.7km respectively.) Its 100% carbon-fibre body makes it supremely lightweight, and its complex system of motors and engines can be driven in fully electric mode, with two rear electric motors providing 232 horsepower and 354 pound-feet of instant electric torque. (The total combined output is 619 horsepower and 738 pound-feet of torque.) An all-wheel drive is also accessible by the push of a button. Then there is the interior, with a characteristic Swedish style: wide frameless doors and side mirrors; a panoramic glass roof; and lights surrounding and illuminating the entire area. It is the little details, though — such as its handmade crystal gear selector or how the Polestar logo is reflected on the panoramic glass roof — that make the Polestar 1 a joy to drive and to own.

Best grocery getter: Audi RS6 Avant

Until this year, Audi had not sold this powerful wagon in the US. It is no use wondering why; German auto executives are sometimes unfathomable to American sensibilities. However, it is no wonder they have decided to bring it over now: There is space in the market for a powerful, sexy and well-apportioned wagon aimed at the well-off adventurer or creative buyer, and Audi might as well be the one to make it. The US$113,000  (estimated price) RS6 Avant comes with a twin-turbocharged four-litre V8 that gets 591 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque. It has Audi’s classic Quattro all-wheel drive and eight-speed automatic transmission—and Audi said it will get to 100kph in 3.6 seconds, topping at 304kph. Those are serious figures, considering this is, after all, a grocery-getter at heart. Options on the Avant include an agility-enhancing rear-wheel steering and hefty 22-inch wheels. Sales for this one are open now, but you will need patience. Deliveries start in mid-2020.

Best comeback kid: BMW M850i

BMW stopped making the original 8-Series in the 1990s. Since then, the M3 and M4 Coupes had to fill the gap for those wanting a fast, powerful and a true sports car they could drive comfortably on a daily basis. Now, with the US$112,895 M850i, you can better those other M cars. The new 8-Series now comes with an enlarged kidney grille and a simple engine variant for the US, a twin-turbo 523-horsepower V8. It also offers as standard a very fast and concise eight-speed automatic transmission, an all-wheel drive, an adaptive suspension and an active steering. All in, the M850i will go to 100kph in 3.6 seconds, with a top speed of 250kph. It has such elegant details as a glass-knob shifter, seats draped in merino leather and a 10.25-inch central information display with a 12.3-inch instrument cluster. A high-resolution heads-up feature and the intuitive next-generation iDrive complete the delightful cabin.