The best cars of the year 2014

Find out which motors impressed judges at the What Car? Car of the Year Awards 2014.

The British-built Nissan Qashqai has been crowned Car of the Year 2014 at the 37th annual What Car? Awards.

It’s the first time the brand has won the overall top prize.

Judges said the new Qashqai delivered first-class levels of comfort, refinement space and safety for a low cost and was the best all-rounder.

The second generation Nissan Qashqai was also named best small SUV by the magazine and Nissan also won the Reader Award for its forthcoming X-Trail, which goes on sale in the summer.

Category winners

The What Car? Awards are made up of 16 prizes for cars launched in the past 12 months. There are 14 class categories, an overall winner and a Reader’s choice award.

Judges consider running costs, depreciation and safety features as well as how well a car performs compared to the rest of its class.

Below are all the winners in each category along with details of the list price for a new model.

Category

Winner

List price

Car of the year

Nissan Qashqai 1.5 dCi Acenta 2WD

£20,840

City car

Hyundai i10 1.0 66 SE  

£9,295

Small car

Ford Fiesta 1.0T 100 Ecoboost Zetec 5dr

£14,495

Family car

Skoda Octavia 1.2 TSI SE       

£17,190

Estate car

Volkswagen Golf Estate 1.6 TDI SE Bluemotion Tech        

£21,735

Sports car

Porsche Boxster 2.7        

£38,237

MPV

Citroën Grand C4  Picasso 1.6 e-HDi 115 Exclusive           

£23,255

Coupé

BMW 435i M Sport auto      

£42,960

Hot hatch

Ford Fiesta ST-2         

£17,995

Small SUV

Nissan Qashqai 1.5 dCi Acenta 2WD

£20,840

Large SUV

Range Rover Sport              

£59,995

Executive car

Audi A3 Saloon 2.0 TDi Sport         

£24,275

Open-top car

Audi A3 Cabriolet 1.8 TSi S Line      

£28,790

Luxury car

Mercedes-Benz S350 Bluetec L SE Line       

£65,650

Green car

BMW i3

£25,680

Reader Award*

Nissan X-Trail

TBC

*On sale in July

BMW scooped two awards. The 435i won best coupé and the new electric i3 was named best green car. Audi also had a double victory, with the A3 Saloon winning the best executive car and the A3 Cabriolet the best open-top car.

[SPOTLIGHT]Ford picked up two awards for its new Fiestas. The 1.0T 100 Ecoboost Zetec 5-door was declared the best small car and the ST-2 the best hot hatch.

The cheapest winning car was found in the city car category, which was awarded to the Hyundai i10 1.0 66 SE. You can buy one for just over £9,000, which also gets you Hyundai’s five-year warranty and roadside assistance package.

Earn money back on your fuel spending with a cashback credit card

Used cars alternatives

The What Car? Car of the Year Awards judge cars that were launched in the last 12 months and so are bound to be out of some people’s price range.

Luckily What Car? also has its Used Car Awards, which showcases the top models which might suit more budgets.

Here are the winners from 2013.

Category

Winner

Dealer price

Private price

Overall Winner

Volkswagen Golf 1.4 TSI SE 5dr

£8,700

£8,300

Small cars

Vauxhall Corsa 1.2 Design AC 5dr - 07/07

£4,100

£3,600

Family cars

Volkswagen Golf 1.4 TSI SE 5dr - '10/10

£8,700

£8,300

Estate cars

Mazda 6 Estate 2.2D 163 TS2 - '09/09

£11,400

£10,700

MPVs

Ford S-Max 2.0 TDCi Zetec - '09/09

£10,900

£10,000

SUVs

Nissan Qashqai 1.5 dCi Acenta - '07/07

£7,800

£7,200

Executive & luxury cars

BMW 320d SE - '07/57

£9,000

£8,600

Nearly new cars

Vauxhall Astra 1.6i Exclusiv - '12/12

£9,100

£8,700

Fun cars

Renault Clio Renaultsport 200 Cup - '09/09

£7,500

£7,200

Manufacturer Award

Vauxhall

-

-

The Volkswagen Golf 1.4 TSI SE 5-door was named the best used car overall. Judges were impressed with the high-quality look and feel of the interior, spacious cabin, safety features and good build quality. It's cheap to run and at £8,700 is within the reach of most family budgets.

However, Vauxhall – which scooped two awards as best used small car and best nearly new car – was named top manufacturer for used cars in 2013.

Vauxhalls are readily available and depreciate quickly so you can get them fairly cheap used. The Vauxhall Corsa 1.2 Design AC 5-door, for example, can be found for just £3,600. But despite the bargain price tag you get good value for money with all the technology and safety features of rivals.

Vauxhall's Network Q approved used scheme was praised by the judges. Vauxhalls sold through Network Q comes complete with multi-point check, a history check confirming the vehicle's age and mileage plus a five-day drive-away insurance policy to get you on the road.

You also get a 30-day exchange policy, allowing you to swap your car for one of equal value if there's an electrical or mechanical fault that cannot be fixed. And peace of mind can be extended with a Network Q car warranty for up to 60 months.

What Car? believes this nationwide presence, a huge, affordable stock and comprehensive insurance package makes Vauxhall a worthy overall winner.

See if you can drive down the cost of your car insurance

More on cars:

25 ways to cut your car insurance

The most economical cars to run

The cheapest cars to insure for young drivers

Car finance options: credit, loans, HP and leasing

RAC vs AA vs Green Flag: The best value breakdown cover

Comments


View Comments

Share the love