Car of the Year – Pulpaddict

Britain’s best new cars revealed

The all-new Dacia Duster has been named ‘Car of the Year’ and ‘Best Small Family Car’ in the 2025 Carbuyer Best Car Awards.

Now in its third generation, the Duster was praised for its sharp design, quality, value for money and some clever touches.

Commenting on the win, Carbuyer Editor, Paul Barker, said: “The Dacia Duster has become a smash hit with British buyers who love its no-nonsense, affordable approach to SUV ownership. Well guess what, the third-generation Duster is even better.

“It’s more practical and electrified engines mean it’s more economical too. If you want it, there’s even a four-wheel drive version that’s a genuine budget off-roader.

“Dacia has always done value for money very well but the new Duster is a far more complete package than we’ve seen before from the brand.

“Sharp design, improved quality and a host of clever touches make it a fantastic small family car. And it’s still cheap to buy and run, too.”

Carbuyer Best Car Awards 2025: all the winners

Best Small Car 2025: Renault Clio
Best Small Family Car 2025: Dacia Duster
Best Family Car 2025: Skoda Octavia
Best Large Family Car 2025: Skoda Kodiaq
Best Estate Car 2025: Skoda Superb Estate
Best Small Company Car 2025: Cupra Born
Best Large Company Car 2025: Tesla Model Y
Best Sports Car 2025: BMW 2 Series Coupe
Best Hot Hatchback 2025: Volkswagen Golf GTI
Best Convertible 2025: Mazda MX-5
Best Small Electric Car 2025: Citroen e-C3
Best Family Electric Car 2025: Renault Scenic
Best Large Electric Car 2025: Kia EV9
Best Hybrid 2025: MG ZS
Best Plug-in Hybrid 2025: Toyota Prius
Best Large Plug-in Hybrid 2025: Lexus NX
Carbuyer car of the Year 2025: Dacia Duster

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Kia EV9 crowned ‘UK Car of the Year 2024’

Gareth Herincx

1 hour ago
Auto News

Kia’s flagship EV9 SUV has triumphed at the UK Car of the Year Awards, winning the overall title and the ‘Large Crossover’ category.

Celebrating the best new vehicles available to UK customers today across eight categories, the UK Car of the Year jury is made up of 30 journalists working across the UK on automotive, business and tech publications. Eligible cars for the awards must have been launched within the past 12 months.

Judges praised the EV9 for several factors, including its innate practicality, modern design, and long electric driving range.

“The uberpractical Kia EV9 could be the vehicle that gets more drivers out of their petrol or diesel car than any other model,” said John Challen, co-chairman of the UK Car of the Year Awards.

“Seven seats, loaded with technology, premium quality and enough miles from the battery to cure almost every case of range anxiety – plus it’s fantastic to drive, too.

“The fact that nearly half of our judging panel chose the Kia as the UK Car of the Year 2024 is a massive vote of confidence in what is a seriously impressive and hugely appealing car.”

The streamlined Hyundai Ioniq 6 took the runner-up spot, while the final podium place went to Volvo’s EX30.

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Lexus LBX crowned ‘Car of the Year’

Home / Auto News / Lexus LBX crowned ‘Car of the Year’

Gareth Herincx

3 days ago
Auto News

The all-new Lexus LBX has been named What Car? Car of the Year for 2024. The stylish hybrid crossover also took home the Best Small SUV category award.

What Car? editor Steve Huntingford, said: “The title of What Car? Car of the Year is reserved for the model that has moved things on the farthest in the past 12 months, and this year, that’s the Lexus LBX.

“Despite competing in the hugely competitive small SUV market, it’s a better all-rounder than every rival, not least because it’s the first car in the class to combine hybrid efficiency with big-car luxury.”

What Car? Car of the Year Winners 2024

Car of the Year: Lexus LBX
Small Car, sponsored by MotorEasy: Renault Clio 1.0 TCe 90 Techno
Family Car: Toyota Corolla 1.8 Hybrid Icon
Hot Hatch: Mercedes-AMG A45 S Plus
Small SUV, sponsored by Solera Cap HPI: Lexus LBX 1.5 Premium Plus
Family SUV, sponsored by Quotezone: Kia Sportage 1.6 T-GDi 3
Plug-in Hybrid: Mazda MX-30 R-EV Prime-Line
Small Electric Car, sponsored by Myenergi: MG4 EV SE
Executive Car: Tesla Model 3 RWD
Estate Car: Toyota Corolla Touring Sports 1.8 Hybrid Icon
Seven-seater: Land Rover Defender 110 D300 X-Dynamic S
Luxury Car: BMW X7 40d M Sport (Ultimate Pack)
Small Electric SUV, sponsored by Blackhorse Finance: Smart #1 Premium
Family Electric SUV, sponsored by Blackhorse Finance: Kia EV6
Reliability Award, in association with MotorEasy: Lexus
Safety Award, sponsored by Thatcham Research: Volkswagen ID 7
Technology Award, sponsored by Goodwood: Tesla Superchargers V4
Tow Car Award, in association with The Camping and Caravanning Club: Kia
Readers’ Choice Award: Renault 5

Tags Car of the Year Crossover hybrid Lexus lexus lbx What Car? What Car? Car of the Year

Gareth is a versatile journalist, copywriter and digital editor who’s worked across the media in newspapers, magazines, TV, teletext, radio and online. After long stints at the BBC, GMTV and ITV, he now specialises in motoring.

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Toyota Prius crowned Japan Car of the Year

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The all-new Toyota Prius has convincingly won the prestigious Japan Car of the Year trophy in Tokyo.

Entering the awards ceremony as the favourite to win, the sleekly-styled Prius polled a massive 360 votes. The BMW X1 finished in second place with 150 votes to take the Import Car of the Year trophy, with the Honda ZR-V crossover came in third with 100 votes.

In the first round of voting in early November, jurors selected the “10 Best” cars for 2023 which included the Toyota Prius, Toyota Alphard, Nissan Serena, Honda ZR-V, Subaru Crosstrek, Mitsubishi Delica Mini, Abarth 500e, BMW X1, Maserati Grecale and Volkswagen ID.4.

According to Prius chief engineer Satoki Oya, the car’s reinvention was a case of extremes when former CEO Akio Toyoda recommended that the Prius, a game-changing petrol-hybrid first introduced in 1997, had run its course and should be retired and relegated to taxi status.

But product planners and engineers, believing the Prius’s fate could be turned around, totally redesigned the exterior and rethought the powertrain, making the hybrid pioneer the most stylish it’s ever been with significantly increased performance and better fuel economy.

In the special awards categories, the 660cc Mitsubishi Delica Mini kei-car won the Design Car of the Year trophy, while the Nissan Serena took home the Technology Car of the Year award for its new e-Power system employing a 3-cylinder 1.4-litre hybrid and Pro-Pilot 2.0 driver assist system which allows hands-off driving on highways.

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Kia EV6 crowned Car of the Year

Gareth Herincx

3 days ago
Auto News

The game-changing Kia EV6 has been named Europe’s top car at a ceremony in Geneva, Switzerland.

Already widely acclaimed, the electric vehicle beat seven other cars that had made it to the final round of the contest.

The 61-member jury, made up of automotive journalists from 23 countries, voted as follows:

Kia EV6 – 279 points
Renault Mégane E-Tech Electric – 265 points
Hyundai Ioniq 5 – 261 points
Peugeot 308 – 191 points
Skoda Enyaq iV – 185 points
Ford Mustang Mach-E – 150 points
Cupra Born – 144 points

“It’s a nice surprise to see the Kia EV6 receive this award,” said the President of the jury, Frank Janssen.

“It was about time that the brand and the group were rewarded, as they have worked so hard on this car. Kia’s pace of progress is really impressive.”

Offering up to 328 miles of range, super-fast charging capability, space, refinement and a class-leading warranty, the boldy styled EV6’s other awards include the What Car? Car of the Year 2022 trophy in January.

A delighted Jason Jeong, President at Kia Europe, added: “The EV6 is truly a landmark development that’s been designed from the outset to make electric mobility fun, convenient and accessible by combining a highly impressive real-world driving range, ultra-fast charging capabilities, a spacious high-tech interior and a truly rewarding driving experience.

“The EV6 is an exciting sign of what’s still to come in our evolving electrified line-up.”

The prestigious Car of the Year award was established in 1964, when the Rover 2000 took top honours. The Toyota Yaris claimed the top prize last year, while the 2019 winner was the pure electric Jaguar I-Pace.

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