Let’s look at two worthy choices pulled from the many.

Mercedes-Benz CLK550

A powerful, good-looking ragtop convertible that seats four.

If you want to turn heads while driving, drive a convertible. If you want to be admired for your choice of vehicle, drive a Mercedes-Benz convertible.

Everywhere I drove or parked in this beautiful 2008 CLK550, it drew favorable comments. One reason might have been the smile on my face. I was in command of a top-down pleasure mobile with a V-8 engine packing 382 horsepower—enough to scoot us from zero to 60 in 5.2 seconds. Not too long ago, such a quick time would have been associated only with two-seat sports cars.

To say that our tester had all the bells and whistles is something of an understatement. Mercedes-Benz has a deserved reputation for advancing vehicle engineering, and this car came with such advanced features as a seven-speed, automatic transmission that could be shifted manually by twin paddles on the steering wheel.

I was also impressed with the headlamp design that triggered the lights to turn as I entered curves or changed direction at night.

If there’s a safer convertible, I haven’t driven it. If the CLK550 were to begin a rollover, twin rollbars would pop up instantly to keep a top-down crash from reaching those inside. And for dreaded side impacts, Mercedes-Benz has somehow managed to incorporate head/thorax side air bags into this ragtop, which had been considered almost impossible.

On the down side, the mileage is only 15 miles per gallon in the city and 21 on the highway, meaning a gas-guzzler tax of $1,000 is imposed on a buyer. The dashboard interface to the electronics—navigation, audio, phone—needs updating. It’s not as user-friendly as newer systems.

The base price is $62,900, but our tester was loaded with features that brought up the final cost to $73,035. Anyone able to pay the base price should probably purchase the options to add value when trade-in comes.

Suzuki XL7 Limited

A three-row sport utility with a unique rear-view system.

Most quality luxury vehicles today come with a full complement of safety and convenience items. I’m particularly fond of the safety provided by backup cameras, but in all other vehicles I’ve tested, the image appears on the navigation-system screen, which is usually centered on the dashboard. This means eyes must travel from the rearview mirror to the navigation screen to the back window.

The 2008 Suzuki XL7 cuts out a step. It has incorporated the video screen into the left side of the rearview mirror, so you get both your standard view as well as a wide-angle view provided by a small camera built into the rear tailgate. It’s a brilliant idea.

And backup lights provide enough illumination at night for the camera to clearly show, for instance, a person walking behind the XL7.

In all ways, the Suzuki XL7 is a fine sport ute, and the relatively low $27,949 price is positive sticker shock. This vehicle is loaded with standard features that are options on many other cars. Even the GPS navigation system is standard. The only option on our limited model was the rear view camera display at $649.

Also, to its credit, the XL7 has five-star crash-test ratings in both front and side tests done by the federal government. That’s as good as it gets.

The three-row vehicle has room for seven, and the second- and third-row seats can be folded flat to create maximum cargo space. Roof rails are standard, so seven people could go on vacation with their luggage secured above them. The high-tech, V-6, 252-horsepower engine returns 18 miles per gallon in the city and 24 on the highway. The XL7 Limited comes with a five-speed automatic transmission, and four-wheel drive can be selected as needed.

Suzuki has advanced as far as any company whose vehicles I’ve tested since 1989. The company has improved so significantly that it can now offer a transferable 100,000-mile warranty for seven years. Good work, Suzuki.