Wait how did you sneak that boat of a Challenger into that line? It’s literally twice the size of every other car you listed.

The real question is: if you’re considering this car seriously (the Mini), what are you willing to compromise on? A bigger vehicle? Less fun for more practicality and luxury?

A more premium interior and feel to the car. It’s not nearly as ugly as a Type R. 

Golf R new.

Or the upcoming Golf R (or even the current one). Since Mini is viewed as a little more “premium” than Honda, I always saw the Golf family as a more direct competitor. 

The art direction is better than the initial trailer but all combat looks like an original Xbox level of attack animations and hit detection.

I understand. But one is a four door economy sedan with a lot of hp and AWD, and the other is a premium sports car (regardless of power). The Supra is effectively a BMW z4 coupe, and there's really no direct competitor. The new Nissan z would probably come closest with what I assume will be plenty of compromises.

Have you sat in one of these? It’s a time machine back to 2005. 

If you are cross shopping a Mustang or STi to a Supra, you have weird priorities.

The Q50/Q60 are as old as this Lexus with no replacements in sight. 

Oh damn. How could I forget about the gorgeous Volvos? Dammit.

Yeah, they sell a ton of SUVs.

At least they’re redesigning their cars. All reviews have said that CT5-V is really good, which bodes well for the Blackwing version. CT4-V is probably good too. The ATS was probably the best driving car of the last generation (with a bad interior really letting it down).

Infiniti: We know we used to make true 3-series competitors, but we’re going Nissan Plus.

It feels like a dated car from 2015 before it even launched.

I don’t understand why they’re pretending this is some big unveiling. It’s a refresh. The outside is a minor evolution, the inside barely changed at all.

Yeah, I’m biased toward AWD because I live in the snowbelt, and the roads here suck (hence adjustable ride in the Golf R being necessary).

So like all journalists talking about how great manual transmission cars are and how automakers should make more cars for the enthusiast crowd... you’re going to buy one, right? Right???

I’m with you - the GTI is just a better all around vehicle and oddly more fun. When you hit $40k in the BMW (which is still the base model with a couple of options), the Golf R is sitting right there. When you’re shopping in the A3/2-series/CLA range, it’s really hard to justify those over the VW offering.

It’s funny how the “purists” want to trash the Bangle era, but looking back the designs were very forward thinking, have largely aged well, and made BMW a ton of money.