2009 BMW 335D

"The figure 425 pound-feet at 1750 rpm doesn't seem that impressive on its own in this horsepower-war age," opines Ougarov. "But in the context that there's more low-end torque in this sedan than in a Corvette Z06 (to say nothing of the high-revving M3 and M5 that have less peak torque), it's startlingly impressive. And because it's a twin-turbo inline-six from ze Germanz in Munich, this one actually emits a nice growl when coaxed into spinning faster than 4000 times a minute. If you just quietly let it cruise, you could easily end up well north of any speed limit in this country without even noticing. In the eternal words of Keanu Reeves: Whoa."

What might impress Keanu more, though, is the 335d's fuel economy. At 26.2 mpg, it is getting better mileage than the Mini, whose 1.6-liter engine is about half the size of the Bimmer's.