YOUR NEXT CAR WILL BE A VOLT:

It's almost impossible to argue, ethically, against the 2021 Toyota Corolla Hybrid. An affordable, comfortable sedan with the king of reliability behind it, a bulletproof hybrid drivetrain steadily improved since its introduction two decades ago, and a fuel-economy rating of 52 mpg combined, all for a $23,400 base price? 

Sold.

Don't care for four doors? Fine. Favor SUVs? Sure, OK. Want more rear legroom or a larger trunk? Gotcha.

You can obtain all those things, but that doesn't mean the Corolla Hybrid is losing any arguments. While the Honda Insight is predictably more fun to drive and slightly more stoutly built, and the Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid is priced nice ($23,200) and posts higher MPGs (58 combined), the Corolla joins the legendary crown nameplate with an equally legendary hybrid technology.

Simply put, the Corolla Hybrid is a majestic example of automotive engineering; all I could think about while driving it for a week was the privilege of experiencing this much ingenuity in one place. Few machines in human history embody the Japanese concept of "kaizen" -- continuous improvement -- more fully.

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