Currently reading: The top 10 Autocar videos of 2016

It's been another vintage year for Autocar videos, and a top 12 months for car fans all round. Take a look at your favourite video moments of the year

As 2016 comes to an end, let’s look at the videos that made the most impact on our YouTube channel.

More than two and a half million people have viewed our top 10 over the past 12 months, but there’s a clear winner – and some interesting themes – among our run-down. Is your favourite Autocar video of 2016 on the list?

1 - Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT vs Porsche Cayenne Turbo S vs BMW X5 M - performance SUV drag race

A clash of titans if ever there was one, our most popular video of the year was last February's performance SUV drag race between some of the punchiest SUVs on the market: the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRTPorsche Cayenne Turbo S and BMW X5 M

You’ll have to watch the video to find out which car won outright, but it’s safe to say that it’s not a spectacle you’ll want to miss. More than half a million viewers agree.

Read more about the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT here

Read our review of the Porsche Cayenne Turbo S here

Get the definitive verdict on the BMW X5 M here

Suvs

2 – Jaguar F-Pace 3.0-litre V6 review – better than a Porsche Macan Turbo?

2016 has been hailed as the year of the SUV, and Jaguar’s first effort in the ever-growing market proved as popular with our video viewers as it is with our road testers.

The reveal of the I-Pace was our most-read story of the LA motor show, so it seems that Autocar's readers and viewers are keen on the idea of a Jaguar SUV. Learn more about it in the video, and find out whether the F-Pace will continue Jaguar's wave of success or shrink into the background in an ever more crowded segment.

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Read our review

Car review

Is Ford’s AWD mega-hatch as special as we first thought? And can the Focus RS beat stiff competition from the Volkswagen Golf R and Mercedes-AMG A45?

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Read our full review of the Jaguar F-Pace here

Get your first look at the all-electric Jaguar I-Pace

Fpace

3 – 600bhp Subaru WRX STI and Mark Higgins smash the Isle of Man TT lap record

Nearly half a million of you tuned in to watch Mark Higgins storm round the Isle of Man TT course in his 600bhp Subaru.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t provide footage of the full 17min 35.139sec lap, but the best moments are in the video and make for one of the most exhilarating five minutes of film of the year.

Read our review of the Subaru WRX STI here

Read about Subaru's return to racing here

Subaru

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4 - Ariel Atom 3.5R vs Yamaha YZF R1 vs Monster Energy Citroën DS3 Rallycross supercar - Drag race

Our fourth-most popular video of the year was another drag race, this time between the Ariel Atom 3.5R, Yamaha YZF R1 and the Monster Energy Citroën DS3 Rallycross car. Again, to find out which won, watch the video.

The video also proved to be one of our most controversial of the year, despite it being one of the most popular drag races we’ve staged.

You should also check out our drag race between a Tesla Model S P85D and a McLaren 650S, but bear in mind that with Tesla’s relentless pursuit of more power, the Tesla would now be considered a previous-generation model.

Read our review of the Ariel Atom here

Read our DS 3 Performance review here

Weirddrag

5 – 2016 Porsche 718 Boxster S first drive – ruined by the turbo?

Porsche has reinvented the Boxster by giving it a new name, docking two cylinders from the engine and turbocharging it, as per the rest of the industry. We rated the previous Boxster as one of the finest driver’s cars around, but does the new version get the same reaction?

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Thousands of you flocked to the video to watch and leave your opinion; the healthy debate around four-cylinder turbo versus six normally aspirated cylinders is very much alive, and the Boxster – now the 718 Boxster S – is better than ever. But watch the video to get the full run-down on what we make of it.

Read our review of the Porsche 718 Boxster S here

Read the definitive Porsche 718 Boxster review here

Box

6 – 2016 Ford Focus RS road and track drive

Few cars have been preceded by more intense hype, or made a bigger impact on their arrival, than the new Ford Focus RS. We got behind the wheel of the latest one on camera for the definitive review, and it’s one of our most popular of the year.

We drove the RS to see if it lives up to the promise of being fun to drive both on the track and on the UK’s roads. Watch the video below to find out exactly what we thought of it.

Read our review of the Ford Focus RS here

Get our review of the standard Focus here

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Catch our definitive Ford Fiesta ST review here

Focus

7 – Nissan GT-R vs Ferrari 458 Speciale vs McLaren 650S – drag race

That’s right, another drag race. The third in our top 10 videos of the year, showing just how entertaining it is to put three cars at the start of a strip of asphalt and stamp on the accelerator.

This time, the Nissan GT-R took on far more expensive supercars from Ferrari and McLaren, to see if it can still live up to its Godzilla status. The winner may not be the one you expected, but we’ll leave it there.

Read our review of the Nissan GT-R here

Get the Ferrari 458 Speciale review here

Catch our review of the McLaren 650S here

Superdrag

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8 – Ferrari GTC4 Lusso – the new Ferrari FF | First Drive

Nothing attracts crowds like a Ferrari, and despite its unusual shape and convention-bucking all-wheel drive, the GTC4 Lusso is no different.

With a 680bhp V12 and £230,430 price, the FF is one of the most expensive four-seaters in the world, but that doesn’t stop it from getting an impressive rating at the hands of our testers. See the full verdict on one of the quirkiest cars ever to come out of Maranello.

Read our review of the Ferrari GTC4 Lusso here

Swot up on its predecessor, the Ferrari FF, here

Gtc

9 – Volvo V90 review: is Volvo’s new estate car better than its German rivals?

A year ago, the Volvo XC90 had us all on tenterhooks, with its billing as the car that could make or break Volvo.

Fast forward 12 months and the XC90 has rocketed to the upper echelons of the large SUV class. Now it’s the turn of the Volvo S90 saloon and Volvo V90 estate to continue the Swedish brand’s renewed success. It’s clearly an area of extraordinary interest given the popularity of the video, so watch it to find out how well the V90 continues Volvo’s big estate heritage.

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Read our review of the Volvo V90 here

Or read up on its saloon brother, the S90, here

Catch the review of the Volvo XC90 here

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10 – Porsche 718 Cayman S – still the perfect sports car? | First Drive

Porsche had a good year in 2016 - especially in Autocar’s videos. And it’s little wonder, when the Cayman S – the ‘perfect sports car’ - was overhauled to become the 718 Cayman S, with turbocharged four-cylinder power.

We took the 718 Cayman S to some of the UK’s finest roads to test the much-hyped new model and find out if it’s still worthy of such a lofty accolade. More than 125,000 of you tuned in to see the results, but if you weren’t one of them, you can join the ranks by clicking the window below.

Read our review of the 718 Cayman S here

Read about the Porsche 911 here

Find out about the Porsche Cayman GT4

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Read about last year's video favourites here

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Another link to top Christmas content

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