2016 Vehicles We Loved or Hated to Buy

You win some, you lose some. Customers, that is. Every year, some vehicle models shine, others go stale.

Here are the winners and losers in 2016, from sub-compacts to family sedans and SUVs to hunky trucks.

2016 sales winners

Let’s start with one model that wins every year. This year, as in every other year in the past several decades, Americans will buy more Ford pickup trucks than any other vehicle.

The final tally for 2016 will come in around 800,000, according to Bloomberg, which compiled all these figures. Other big trucks don’t even come close.

The other top five 2016 sales winners are all SUVS and crossovers, not a sedan in the bunch, reflecting our return to larger cars when gas prices got smaller.

That could change again in 2017 as gas prices have been inching up again.

Although the best-selling Toyota Camry and Honda Civic continue to be best-sellers, their numbers are rock steady, not like these models which definitely have moved into the fast lane.

Infiniti QX50 (+272%)

Nissan’s luxury brand, now makes four sizes of SUVs or crossovers. The QX50 crossover is the second-smallest among the four, and exactly the size and shape of vehicle that Americans want to buy right now, more than anything else.

The latest iteration is a little larger and sportier than before. Bloomberg describes it as the poor man’s Porsche Macan, with similar performance for almost half the cost.

Mercedes-Benz GLE (+221%)

Depending on how you slice it, the Mercedes family now has about 25 members. In that bustling Stuttgart house, the GLE crossover is now the second-favorite sibling.

It topped both the E-class sedan and its smaller, cheaper SUV siblings in U.S. sales this year.

Sure, the C-class sedan is still the most popular model. But for much of the world, a GLE is now the Mercedes to aspire to.

Volvo XC90 (+202%)

The XC90 picked up Motor Trend’s coveted SUV of the Year award in 2015, and Volvo ramped up production.

The past year saw the brand make good on this extensive investment with pots of money from its new Chinese owners.

Audi TT (+201%)

Few people care for little sports cars anymore unless they are named Porsche or Mazda Miata, so it’s impressive that Audi managed to move about 3,000 TTs in 2016.

By comparison, Alfa-Romeo will be lucky to offload 500 of its dead-sexy 4C. Credit Audi’s popularity to a 2015 refresh that included a new, lightweight aluminum body, very cool headlights, and futuristic interior design.

BMW X1 (+88%)

BMW’s starter crossover makes good on BMW’s driving dynamics, and buyers like it’s higher riding position.

But do owners really take their Beemers over the river and through the woods? Nah. That’s just for photos.

2016 sales losers

Honda Fit (-43%)

Make no mistake, this is a great little car, with dynamite fuel economy and a rock-bottom price.

The Fit’s ratio of interior space to exterior size seems to bend the laws of physics, and that equation has only improved over time.

The problem, one suspects, is appearance. Even though it handles like a car the next size up, the Fit still looks like a tiny car for first-time buyers.

BMW 6-series (-46%)

The 6-Series has an identity crisis. It’s not exactly a sedan, not exactly a coupe, not exactly a hatchback, not exactly an SUV.

It’s built for four people, yet often has only two doors. It’s made for speed – especially the souped-up Alpina version (shown here) – but weighs 4,000 pounds.

BMW isn’t one for cancelling models that don’t sell. This could could disappear quietly.

Fiat 500L (-60%)

The 500L is Fiat Chrysler’s acknowledgement that Americans like cargo capacity.

The problem is that it still looks like a Fiat, although one that’s been stretched in a taffy-pull machine.

Curiously, U.S. drivers are just fine with the bones of the car; they would just rather have them packaged as a Jeep Renegade. That kissing cousin to the 500L will top 100,000 in U.S. sales this year, but not the 500L, or even the 500.

Chrysler 200 (-65%)

It’s tough to fight Honda and Toyota in the regular-old-family-sedan game, but Ford is doing a decent job with the Fusion, and Chevrolet’s Malibu is hanging in there.

But they aren’t saddled with sub-par reviews as the 200 has been. Sales have been bad enough that Fiat/Chrysler is sending the 200 to the junkheap – along with the equally promising Dodge Dart. Fiat Chrysler is phasing out the 200, but not its larger sibling the 300, which is selling decently.

Kia K900 (-68%)