What is the “car” that hasn’t come to Japan yet but is promising? [The famous car that impressed me personally in 2025]

A model that heralds VW’s revival

Volkswagen Polo ID. I only drove a camouflaged pre-production model (a model produced on a test production line before full-scale mass production) for about an hour in the mountains outside Barcelona, ​​but there’s no doubting its quality.

Since the Golf 8.0 debuted, it has been completely freed from the wheel control (an internal VW term; a phenomenon in which slight vibrations are felt when the wheels move up and down violently. It occurs as a result of a complex interplay of unsprung weight, local rigidity of the body, and the vibration damping characteristics of tires and bushings) that has been seen in many VW models. In addition, the body rigidity is outstanding, so even when driving at a fair pace on dirt roads, it absorbs everything firmly and there is not even a sound of it clunking.

In addition, the ride is soft with very little roughness. The suspension stroke is very smooth, and the suspension arms are incredibly sturdy. In other words, the ideal ride quality for a family car, up until the Golf 7, has returned.

What’s more, the roll amount when cornering is somewhat less than that of conventional VWs, so even the standard grade doesn’t scare you on winding roads. In fact, you could even say it’s fun. Including the model name, it can be said that this model loudly announces the revival of VW.

Combining comfort and sport

The Honda Prelude came in second place in the 2025-2026 Japan Car of the Year awards, so it’s no longer a “hidden gem” or anything, but the ride in Comfort mode is truly electrifying!

The way it goes over undulating roads and sharp bumps is impressive, as it glides smoothly over them without any direct shock whatsoever. The balance between the degree of impact transmitted to the occupants and the speed of the up and down movement is also exquisite. It feels as though the car has calculated all the upcoming impacts, figured out how to distribute them in frequency and how to transmit them over time for the most comfortable feeling, and then generated vibrations in the suspension accordingly. What’s more, it’s amazing how you can enjoy even fairly hard cornering in this comfort mode.

Its weak point is handling single large inputs such as undulations on the highway and going over bumps. This is the only thing it is not good at, as it loses a sense of flatness and transmits direct shocks. In this case, switching to GT mode or Sport mode will make it less uncomfortable, but the comfort of Comfort mode will be lost. In the next minor change, I hope that the GT mode and Sport mode settings will retain the flavor of Comfort mode.

Can be moved in 1cm increments

The successor to the Ferrari Roma, the Amalfi, also inherited the theme of being a “Ferrari that can be used every day” from its predecessor. The Roma’s design was certainly elegant, and in terms of styling, it perfectly embodied the concept of a “Ferrari that can be used every day.” However, the ride was a little stiff (though this was greatly improved through annual improvements), and the drivability had certain quirks, so if you were to ask seriously, “Would you want to use it every day?”, some doubts remained.

Well, even if it’s only that much, it’s still a good result for a Ferrari, whose selling point is “extraordinary” driving… But I was impressed by how thoroughly the Amalfi has been refined to be suitable for everyday use.

For example, the manners when starting quietly are much more refined than in the Roma, and it is now possible to move the car smoothly and even in 1cm increments. This is an astonishing level of control for a DCT.

The engine’s response remained docile, and the relationship between the amount of throttle pedal depression and the resulting power and response was linear. The tendency for the engine to suddenly rev up after a short delay after depressing the throttle pedal was completely gone.

But what impressed me the most were the brakes. The adoption of brake-by-wire completely eliminates the problem often found in high-performance cars where the braking force builds up unexpectedly when you first apply the brakes. I was amazed at how it delivers the braking force you want in any situation. With this, I can confidently recommend this Ferrari as a “Ferrari you’ll want to drive every day.”

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Automotive writers choose one car each from the EV, gasoline-powered vehicle, and PHEV categories [Personal Hidden Cars of 2025]

In 2025, there were almost no new B-C segment hatchbacks with internal combustion engines that I could personally target, and I have had more and more opportunities to drive new battery electric vehicles (BEVs) little by little. When I look back on a topic like this, I try to choose models that I could consider as options as much as possible, but I have simply picked out three cars that made an impression on me without any prerequisites.