A Personal Perspective on the Western Automotive Journalists’ Best of the Bay 2026
[Background: Once a year Western Automotive Journalists (WAJ) invites automakers to bring some of their best new models to the San Francisco Bay Area and WAJ members spend a day-and-a-half driving each and then reporting their findings as the Best of the Bay. This year’s eclectic group of a dozen cars are the subject of long-time WAJ member Andrew Frankl’s overview below. Clean Fleet Report will have additional reporting on the event soon. Another WAJ member, Michael Hagerty, also offers his perspective here.]
The annual Best of Bay event is always the highlight of my automotive year. Just like in previous years, 2026 was another great one!
Surprise—a McLaren!
This year we had two wonderful surprises—a McLaren Artura and Maserati’s Grecale Moderna V6. What Nolan Gray of McLaren could not have known was that Bruce McLaren, founder of the company, and I had been friends in the 1960s. As we all know, he unfortunately lost his life testing a car back in 1970. The motor racing world lost a great driver and designer. I am just very pleased that the name is very much alive. In fact, the 2025 F1 world champion drove a car bearing Bruce’s name.
The Artura was new to me, but I think Nolan was a little bit surprised when I showed him a video of me driving a McLaren back in 2011 on that famous race track where Jeremy Clarkson and his friends did all their crazy stunts. The color hasn’t changed, I am pleased to say, and the Artura is OK now. I am saying now, because early on it had a myriad of problems, mainly electrical. Some prices dropped from $300 to $200,000 dollars in a year. For McLaren to climb back from such steep depreciation, it had to get all the gremlins sorted. Judging by the car I had a chance to drive, they did. The problem is to get the message across.
The V6 engine is superb and sounds just as good as a Ferrari or a Maserati. The handling has been tweaked by current world champion Lando Norris. No surprises here, Michael Schumacher used to fine-tune Ferraris while Honda’s NSX was as brilliant as it was thanks to the unforgettable Ayrton Senna. With all the AI money flooding into San Francisco the question is—should you buy one? Well, try it against the Ferrari GTB and decide. A first world problem if ever there was one.
Maserati Grecale
The Maserati Grecale also came with a serious pedigree. More by luck than judgement, I was at the factory in Modena last year just as they were celebrating 100 years of motorsport. Over the years they have had huge success in autoracing, culminating in Juan Manuel Fangio’s F1 victory in the priceless 250F. To this day his victory at the Nurburgring in 1957, overcoming a 50-second pit stop, is truly a fairytale. I had the honor of meeting him in 1993–unforgettable.
Wish I could say the same about the Grecale. It is all right, but no more. The best bit is the engine, that wonderful sonorous V6 which you will also find in Ferraris. The price for such a famous marque is an attractive $90,000, but regrettably Maseratis have a history of very low second-hand value which, just like McLaren, they are trying hard to overcome.
Lexus ES 500e Premium
When you compare the Maserati to the 2026 Lexus ES 500e Premium, it is no contest. The Lexus is $30,000 cheaper. OK, it is electric and does not have a racing heritage, but it incredibly comfortable. If you add the legendary reputation that Lexus has, you will skip the Maserati and several other rivals.
I am a little bit disappointed in the 272-mile-range. BMW’s new iX3, admittedly slightly smaller, is good for something like 400 miles. So there is work to do on that score. Certainly there is no need to improve the optional brilliant 17-speaker, 1,800-watt Mark Levinson audio system. Acceleration (0-60 mph) is 5.1 seconds, which is good for a large car. My only beef is the range. Imagine in January, you are trying to get to Incline Village near Lake Tahoe with the heater and the sound system full on and four people on board. Range anxiety will rear its ugly head.
Knowing Lexus, I am sure they are working on the problem.
Mazda CX-30 2.5 Turbo Aire Edition
Many of my colleagues raved about the 2026 Mazda’s CX-30 2.5 Turbo Aire Edition. It was voted overall winner of the 2026 Best of the Bay Award! I agree with most of the conclusions, but I still think it could use a little more horsepower. Having said that, when it comes to value for money you simply cannot beat it. At $37,000 with options and delivery charges, it really is a bargain.
One major complaint—a very slippery steering wheel. Mazda tells me it is leather-wrapped, but it is very, very slippery. Fuel consumption at 25 mpg (EPA combined) is not stunning, but with a bit of judicious driving you should be able to get 30 miles per gallon. If I were in the market for a reasonably priced, exceptionally well-equipped automobile, the CX-30 would definitely be on my shortlist. The interior is truly exceptional! Well done, Mazda
Honda Prelude/Hyundai Palisade Calligraphy
The Honda Prelude takes one look at you and says—take me to the next corner! Indeed, you look at this $42,000 mini-rocket and you know it ancestry. The race track, or at the very least, some twisty roads the likes of which you will find in West Marin. It has a 2.0-liter direct injection engine, Brembo front brake calipers, paddle shifts—the works. The Prelude is a little bit too small for me, and I have retired from being a boy racer, but I can definitely see the appeal of this very attractive little machine. Personally, I prefer the Miata. For me, open air motoring in that little gem is unparalleled.
The Hyundai Palisade Calligraphy AWD makes Range Rover and other luxury SUVs look silly. I don’t know how they do it. How they can sell this amazingly luxurious product for under $60,000 is a mystery to me. Interestingly, more of my colleagues prefer the four-cylinder hybrid to the V6, but neither engine is powerful enough to charge up to Tahoe with the large family occupying all seats in the second and third rows. While mechanically the Hyundai is not getting any Oscars, the interior certainly does! So, come on Hyundai, find a little bit more oomph and better fuel economy to reach the top of the class not just in the cabin, but under the bonnet as well.
You might be interested to know how the WAJ judges—all highly qualified automotive journalists—voted of the Best of the Bay.
- Best Overall + Best Compact SUV: 2026 Mazda CX-30 2.5 Turbo Aire Edition
- Best Car (and for me first overall): the 2026 Lexus ES 500e Premium
- Best EV: 2027 Kia EV3 GT-Line AWD
- Best Luxury SUV: 2026 Hyundai Palisade Calligraphy AWD
- Best Supercar: 2026 McLaren Artura
As for the rest, there were no losers. Automotive engineering in improving leaps and bounds.
Bring on Best of the Bay 2027!
Story by Andrew Frankl. Photos by Michael Coates.
