With the debilitating effects of the economic crisis firmly in the nation’s rearview mirror and new-car sales firing on all cylinders, the 2014 model year is serving up an engaging array of new and fully redesigned models, ranging from family sedans and plush luxury cars to hot sport coupes and utilitarian pickup trucks. We’re featuring 15 of the most noteworthy new models in the accompanying slide show and in the text below. While all are significant, two new breakthrough autos will likely dominate the discussion for several months to come, namely the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray and the Mercedes-Benz S-Class.
Long known as “America’s sports car,” the iconic Chevrolet Corvette is a big story if for no other reason because new versions are so few and far between. It’s entering only the seventh generation in its storied 60-year history with a major 2014 redesign. Said to share only two components with the outgoing model, the re-imagined ‘Vette brings back a revered name from the car’s Golden Age: Stingray.
Coming in both coupe and convertible versions, the 2014 Stingray’s exterior is radically recast with composite and carbon fiber body panels, yet it bears a certain familiarity that makes it instantly recognizable as a Corvette. Low slung and with the requisite curves and creases it looks like a Hot Wheels toy car come to life, but with performance that should give some exotic sports cars a workout for far less money, starting at just $51,000. A revamped 6.2-liter V8 engine puts an estimated 450 horsepower and 450 pound-feet of torque to the pavement through the rear wheels via a six-speed manual or seven-speed automatic transmission. When equipped with the available Z51 Performance Package, Chevy says the Stingray is good for a 0-60 mph run in just 3.8 seconds, and that’s only a few tenths slower than the Corvette’s previous ZR1 version that was priced at well over $100,000.
Otherwise, the 2014 Corvette Stingray is lighter in weight but is more structurally rigid than before, with an ideal 50/50 front-to-rear weight ratio that, combined with updated steering and suspension systems and the latest chassis control systems, promise truly tenacious handling. A new Drive Mode Selector allows the driver to tune 12 separate performance attributes according to five different driving situations, including one for use on wet roads and another that enables the engine to run on only four cylinders to garner maximum fuel economy. Shoring up one traditional weakness from the previous generation, the 2014 Corvette Stingray’s revamped interior is driver focused and makes extensive use of high quality materials for a far richer look and feel.
While the new Corvette Stingray solidifies Chevrolet’s presence in the world’s sports car market, the 2014 Mercedes-Benz S-Class virtually redefines the luxury sedan. With the automaker having shuttered its ultra-opulent Maybach line last year Mercedes moves its flagship model considerably farther upscale to fill the gap. Coming wrapped in styling that is both bold and sufficiently stately, the new S Class debuts with a 455-horsepower twin-turbo V8-equipped S550 version and a higher-performance S63 AMG 4MATIC with a 5.5-liter twin-turbo 577-horsepower V8. Perhaps more noteworthy is that Mercedes engineers have managed to pack so many bleeding edge features into the latest S-Class that it’s impossible to list and explain them all in just a handful of sentences.
While much of the new-model-year chatter will be focused on the Corvette and S-Class, there’s no shortage of drama unfolding elsewhere in the auto business for 2014. For example, Acura recently rolled out its own new flagship luxury sedan, the RLX, which replaced the largely overlooked RL. Though it’s a nice enough car in its own right, we’re doubtful buyers will find the new model to be up to the standards of similar models from Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. In a good news/bad news situation, Acura sold just 499 RLX units in June (outpacing only the dismal ZDX in the lineup), though that translates into an encouraging 1,459 percent increase over RL transactions in the same period a year earlier.
Similarly, Kia is reaching farther upscale for 2014 with its new top-of-the-line Cadenza sedan. Based on the Hyundai Azera, this is the costliest Kia to date, starting at just over $35,000. Though it comes with a more luxurious interior and offers a few opulent options its showroom sibling lacks, the Cadenza may not make a compelling case for itself as a major upgrade over the less-expensive and similarly sized Optima sedan. Albeit just being introduced to consumers, Kia sold only 1,001 Cadenzas in June, which made it the brand’s slowest selling model (by comparison, buyers snapped up 14,599 Optimas last month).
Jeep brings back the Cherokee for 2014 as a replacement for the former Liberty SUV; perhaps unfortunately it comes wrapped in a dynamically cast exterior that seems to be polarizing among Jeep loyalists who might otherwise expect a somewhat boxier look. Under its power-domed hood the new Cherokee offers a choice of a Fiat-supplied four-cylinder engine or a new 271-horsepower 3.2-liter V6, an advanced nine-speed automatic transmission; no less than three separate four-wheel-drive systems are optional that promise exceptional off-road abilities.
Likewise, Toyota redesigns its popular Corolla compact sedan for 2014 with uncharacteristically fluid exterior styling to help silence critics who have long found the car’s appearance to be too bland. Buyers, however never seemed to mind, as the outgoing-version Corolla continues to outsell all other compact cars during the first half of 2013, and that’s despite lingering in its current form since the 2009 model year.
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