Car magazines were, until recently, the single best source of information for making a purchasing decision and keeping up with news and automotive trends. They still remain an important factor of car culture to this day. However, with countless car magazines to choose from, enthusiasts set on receiving their daily dose of automotive content from print are currently faced with a difficult choice.
For this reason, we've compiled a list of the greatest, most informative and entertaining print magazines that will surely put a smile on any car enthusiast's face. So buckle up, because these are the 10 best car magazines you can read!
10 Road & Track
Published monthly, Road and Track Magazine has been a popular source of automotive insights and information geared at the average car enthusiast since 1947. However, the detailed reviews and quality discussions are not only focused on regular cars, but delve into the world of motorsports as well. This being said, its contributors have included many racing legends such as Formula One star Phil Hill and designer Gordon Murray. Today, it remains among the most popular automotive magazines, commended for its informative and high-quality writing and interesting comparisons of both race and production cars.
9 Top Gear
Along with their popular TV show, Top Gear publishes a monthly magazine and has been doing so for the past 25 years. It doesn't just translate the TV show's content to paper though, as the articles it features offer a great read with plenty of in-depth features on many cars and quality coverage by (among others) the show's famous hosts - Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May. For this, Top Gear magazine has some of the most humorous and snappy columns that are often a delight to read. If you're a fan of the show, we definitely recommend this one.
8 Octane
A beautiful read for every petrol head, octane is a monthly magazine that mostly focuses on classic cars and motorsports, with an occasional performance car feature. It's a relatively young magazine, compared to some of the other contenders on this list, but the content it provides is on par with the greatest automotive magazines in the world. Its contributors include the likes of Jay Leno and Rowan Atkinson, so you can be sure the words will be snappy and entertaining.
7 Car and Driver
With an annual circulation of 1,2 million readers, Car and Driver magazine is Amerca's most popular car magazine. And rightfully so: during its 64-year history, the magazine has consistently provided its readers with quality reviews and actionable advice on regular, popular cars and some of the more exotic cars as well. Clever, often humorous writing, decent photography, and coverage of all important automotive news keeps this magazine a worthy monthly subscription for any gearhead or enthusiast.
6 Motor Trend
With a popular YouTube channel, website, and one of the most circulated automotive print magazines, Motor Trend is undoubtedly among the most recognizable car magazines in the world. The print is published monthly, and has been a popular choice for car enthusiasts since 1949. The writers at Motor Trend produce quality content through frequent hands-on testing and comparison of new and popular vehicles. The biggest emphasis here is put on regular production, everyday vehicles with down-to-earth reviews and advice helping consumers make smart and informed purchase decisions.
5 Autocar
Widely considered to be the world's oldest car magazine, Autocar has been going at it since 1895. And due to its top-notch news content, writing style, photography, and extremely detailed road tests, it continues to firmly hold its own among the world's best car magazines. But above all, it's favored by automotive enthusiasts for its consistent quality and abundance of content pertaining to the market specific to the reader, offering international coverage in UK, China, India, Japan, etc. You can use Autocar as a top-quality one-stop-shop for automotive news, detailed reviews and almost anything else.
4 EVO
if you're a supercar fanatic, then EVO is the perfect magazine for you. The sole focus of this magazine is to bring the world of performance cars as close as possible to the readers. This being said, no other magazine will provide you with such a rich and detailed experience of what it's like to sit inside the world's most competent cars. The reviews are detailed with ample spec tables and the images are hands down one of the best you will find anywhere. The magazine really seems to put a high emphasis on reader engagement. Absolutely a great choice!
3 Autoweek
Another popular magazine that you've surely seen lying around, Autoweek has been a well-respected source of bi-weekly automotive news for over 60 years now. It set out to provide its readers with news and detailed information about racing and more obscure car knowledge. Today it sits firmly among the most circulated car magazines in America and also covers topics like news, trends, and car reviews, every two weeks. It is exactly this increased publishing frequency compared to its rivals that tips the scale in favor of Autoweek for many automotive magazine subscribers. When it comes to the rest, the quality of coverage is on par with the best car magazines out there, with great images and plenty of tech details for gearheads.
2 Automobile
Although published by the Motor Trend Group, Automobile distinguishes itself as an automotive lifestyle publication amounting an annual circulation of almost 300,000. The deal with Automobile is hence less in the specs and hard technical details and more on the down-to-earth, realistic reviews and descriptions of driving experiences and quality of vehicles tested. So up until 2014, Automobile has been announcing cars for their "Automobile fo the Year" award, which was replaced by "Automobile All-Stars" to share their thoughts on what the best new vehicles to buy are. It also sets aside pages for old vehicles that interest collectors and classic car enthusiasts, and offers a very high standard of content, photography, and overall reader experience.
1 Hot Rod
Hot Rod separates itself from the competition with its strict focus on classic, muscle, and race cars. It is famous for organizing some of the biggest drag racing events ever - the Hot Rod Magazine Championship Drag Races - throughout the 1960s. Today, boasting a total annual circulation of 650,928, Hot Rod is also one of the most popular automotive magazines in America, and a perfect choice for hard-core gearheads and tuning and muscle car fans.