Audi TT / TTS Price: $44,450 - $53,450

With snazzy styling and peppy performance, the TT and TTS appeal to both the practical and the passionate. The TT has a 220-hp turbo four; the TTS makes 292 hp. Quattro all-wheel drive and a six-speed dual-clutch automatic are standard on both models; a manual, unfortunately, is not offered. The TT is available as both coupe and softtop; the TTS only as a coupe. With well-tuned suspensions, the TT and TTS are effortlessly...

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Lotus Evora 400 Price: $91,785

With its lightweight chassis of bonded aluminum, supple suspension, and mid-engine layout, there’s nothing ordinary about the Evora 400. A supercharged 3.5-liter V-6 cranks out 400 hp; a six-speed manual is standard and a paddle-shifted six-speed automatic is optional. We estimate a 0-to-60 time of 4.3 seconds and a TOP speed of 172 mph. Handling is lively, steering is light yet responsive, and the brakes excellent;...

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Audi TT RS Price: $60,000

Audi includes all the modern performance upgrades in its arsenal to make the TT RS one wicked sports coupe. The 2.5-liter turbo five makes 400 hp and drives all four wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic; we estimate a 0-60 time of 3.6 seconds. Steering-wheel-mounted ignition and drive-mode selector switches, a fixed rear wing, gaping front intakes, and large oval-shaped tailpipes separate the RS from other TTs....

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Porsche 718 Cayman Price: $54,950 - $67,350

Sharing the same “718” prefix as its Boxster brother, the Cayman also shares the award as a 10Best winner. Despite more-powerful turbo fours (there is a base 300-hp 2.0-liter and a 350-hp 2.5-liter in the S) with increased torque, the legendary Porsche flat-six rasp of yore is gone—and we miss it. The car remains perfectly poised as its predecessors. A six-speed manual is standard; a seven-speed automatic is optional. An improved...

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Honda CR-Z

The CR-Z is an ambitious attempt at making a sporty hybrid, but its performance doesn’t match its adventurous styling. The good news is that it’s the only hybrid sold with a manual—a six-speed—but the bad news is that the combined output is a mere 130 hp. A 1.5-liter four-cylinder pairs with an electric motor; the EPA rates it for 36-mpg city/39-mpg highway with the optional CVT; the manual gets 31/38. Standard features include...

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