Volvo EX30 crowned 2024 Carwow Car of the Year

The Volvo EX30 has been crowned Carwow’s 2024 Car of the Year, picking up the top prize in the annual Carwow Awards, where we pick out the best cars across a series of categories designed to help consumers find the right car for them, no matter what the requirements or budget.

As well as category winners and our overall Car of the Year, Carwow’s expert editorial team with decades of industry experience have selected four other Highly Commended models, ensuring there’s something here for a wide variety of budgets, brand preferences and requirements.

“To help buyers make the right choice for them, we’ve looked at everything from price and performance, to efficiency, comfort and practicality – the things that really matter to car buyers,” said Carwow Chief Content Officer Mat Watson. “We’ve picked out the cars that we think lead the field and offer something different, innovative and valuable to buyers paying out their hard-earned money.

Let us walk you through our outstanding cars of the year:

Adventurer’s Choice

Winner – Volkswagen Multivan

The Volkswagen Multivan is a car that can take the whole family on adventures together. Brilliant levels of flexibility mean seats can easily be slid across a wide variety of positions or even removed completely to make room for bikes, boards or camping kit. The plug-in hybrid model even ensures you can drive in electric silence once you’re into the countryside, and the Multivan looks good, drives nicely and offers acres of practicality.

Highly Commended

Dacia Sandero Stepway

Budget price tag but plenty of space, plus raised ride height and body cladding gives the Dacia Sander Stepway a veneer of rough road appetite.

Ford Ranger

Our current pick of the pick-ups, the Ford Ranger is more civilised than ever but can still tackle off-road tasks with aplomb.

Land Rover Defender

The iconic Land Rover Defender is still incredibly capable when things go properly off-road, but combined with a huge amount of premium on-road sophistication. And a huge price tag.

Nissan X-Trail

A great all-rounder, the Nissan X-Trail has seven-seat capability, plenty of space and enough off-road ability to take you into the wilderness.

Family Values Award

Citroen C5 Aircross

Citroen’s C5 Aircross is an absolute bargain, which is a key quality for a great family vehicle. But it also ticks a whole series of other important boxes too, because it’s comfortable, practical, commanding driving position and also has plenty of chic French style to it too. Citroen’s very competitive pricing means the C5 Aircross is more accessible than ever, and is a great choice for anyone looking for family transport.

Highly Commended

BMW X7

A big budget big car for a big family, the BMW X7 has loads of space, is loaded with kit and handles better than a car this size has any right to.

Dacia Jogger

There’s no more cost efficient way into the ability to carry seven people, but the Dacia Jogger is also unpretentiously good looking and efficient.

Nissan Qashqai

The crossover that defined a segment is still incredibly popular, and its combination of style, equipment, efficiency and accessibility make the Nissan Qashqai a great choice.

Tesla Model Y

Tesla’s aggressive pricing has opened up this practical and innovative electric car to a much wider audience.

Urban Living Award

Volvo EX30

Volvo’s new baby electric car is an absolute peach. It’s got bags of character, drives really nicely, is efficient, and is one of the most affordable small electric SUVs you can buy. There’s loads of space in the front and it’s really good at soaking up bumps to make for a relaxing and comfortable drive.

Highly Commended

MG 4

The MG 4 is practical, very keenly priced and looks great, no wonder it took home the prize for Carwow Car of the Year in 2023

Smart #1

New this year, the resurgent Smart brand kicked off its new age with a practical and well-packaged small electric SUV.

Toyota Yaris Cross

Efficient, cleverly packaged and with Toyota’s enviable reputation for reliability, the Yaris Cross’s hybrid powertrain is very much at home in the city.

Volkswagen T-Cross

One of the classiest compact SUVs, the popular T-Cross has a lovely interior, classy understated looks and the high driving position that makes it easy to pilot around crowded town streets.

Outstanding EV Award

Tesla Model 3

The previous Model 3 was still right up with the best electric vehicles, but Tesla has made it even better with a massive overhaul to address the weaknesses. It’s now much more comfy over bumpy roads and more luxurious to drive, but still as efficient as ever, and of course the Supercharger network of public chargers is brilliant.

Highly Commended

Audi Q4 e-tron

Audi’s usual high-quality interior makes the Q4 e-tron a lovely place to pass the time, and it’s good-looking and practical.

MG4

Another Highly Commended for our 2023 Car of the Year. The MG is remarkably well-priced for a practical EV with a good range.

Smart #1

Neat, sensible and, in Brabus form, incredibly rapid, the Smart #1 is an excellent first small SUV from the compact car brand.

Volvo EX30

Volvo’s baby has been one of the most anticipated cars of the year, and its good looks, great driving experience and comfort all add up to a car well worth the wait.

Desirability Award

Porsche 911 S/T

Just when you thought the 911 couldn’t get any better, along comes the S/T. The extra work over a GT3 Touring warrants the extra price, and it’s the ultimate Porsche 911 for the road. It’s just such a special car, and manages to be luxurious and ultra sporting at the same time. And it’s incredibly exclusive.

Highly Commended

Aston Martin Valkyrie

An astounding car, and one of the most astounding things is that this £2.5m 1,000hp V12 monster is road legal

BMW M3 Touring

There are very few more rapid ways to carry a bucket load of stuff, and certainly none that are more fun. The long-awaited BMW M3 Touring is finally here, and it was well worth the wait.

Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato

Because who wouldn’t want to take their Huracan off-road? A brilliant answer to a question not often asked. But we love it.

McLaren Artura

Eye-catching? Yes. Eye-watering performance? Yes. Wonderful to drive? Yes. Everything a modern £200,000 supercar should be.

Smart Spender Award

Dacia Jogger

Dacia is always near the top of the list for anyone buying to a budget, but that doesn’t mean they’re not great cars. The Jogger is as cost-effective as it gets in terms of a new car that can carry seven people, but it’s also comfortable and massively practical. Plus it looks good in an old-school estate car sort of way, so it stands out from the crowd of samey SUVs.

Highly Commended

BYD Dolphin

Bigger than it looks and absolutely loaded with kit for the fairly modest pricing, this EV hatchback should help push BYD into buyer’s consciousness.

Kia Picanto

The funkiest of city cars on sale these days, and a facelift has only enhanced the visual charms. But the Picanto is also good to drive, cost efficient and more spacious than you’d expect.

MG 4 XPower

Go back a couple of years and try telling someone that you could have a supercar-bashing electric hatchback for £35,000. The MG 4 X Power is utterly ridiculously fast.

Skoda Enyaq

All the good things about Skoda in an electric package. Loads of space, competitively priced and a good sprinkling of clever features.

Pleasure of Driving Award

Toyota GR86

Toyota has pulled another great driving car out of the bag! The GR86 is everything you’d want it to be; it’s the kind of car you’re desperate to just take out for a drive. Get it on a twisty road and it’s awesome. Plus it’s a Toyota so reliability should be guaranteed!

Highly Commended

BMW M2

Wonderfully fun high-performance small coupe that ticks all the boxes you’d expect from BMW’s legendary M division.

Honda Civic Type-R

The latest Type-R is less out-there than the previous car, but even more fun to drive and has taken a step forward on the inside.

Lotus Emira

The loveliest cabin Lotus has ever produced, and it’s housed in another triumph of lightweight driving enjoyment.

Porsche 718 Boxster

The master of driving pleasure, Porsche keeps on producing cars that are wonderful to drive, and the Boxster’s ability to be wind-in-hair relaxed or B-road blaster is a winner.

Comfortable Cruiser Award

BMW i5

The 5 Series is BMW’s legendary saloon, so updating it always comes with pressure. But the first electric i5? Nailed it! BMW has built a posh premium electric car that’s good for the family but also good to drive, has loads of tech, buckets of performance and is a brilliant long-distance cruiser.

Highly Commended

Citroen C5 X

Very comfortable, practical and with a nice dose of French design flair, the C5 X is excellent at carrying people and stuff over long distances.

Honda Civic

The pick fo the hatchbacks when it comes to long-distance driving, the comfy Civic has plenty of space, safety kit and a well-designed interior.

Mercedes E-Class

Of all the exec saloons, it’s Mercedes that traditionally appeals for long journeys. The latest E-Class maintains thew car’s long-held position as the comfort king.

Range Rover

Beautifully luxurious, the Range Rover is the epitome of desirability and refinement.

Tech Trailblazer Award

Ford Bluecruise

Autonomous driving is something we’ve been talking about for ages, but Ford is the first brand to offer cars in the UK that you can drive up the motorway with your hands off the wheel. Legally. If you’re still watching the road. It’s clever next-step tech and when it’s more widespread will help keep motorway drivers safe and refreshed on long journeys.

Highly Commended

BMW i7 Rear Screens

Even for a car that is often bought for the person sitting in the back, a drop-down 31-inch screen that turns the car in to a cinema or gaming arena is pretty impressive.

HiPhi Z Exterior Lighting

It’s very much at the mercy of childish behaviour, but Chinese brand HiPhi’s attempt to be different means you can write messages that are displayed digitally on the outside of the car!

Mercedes in-car video calling

Zoom and Webex calls using your car’s infotainment screen? How very post-Covid work-from-anywhere of Mercedes.

Toyota Solid State Batteries

They’re still very much at the concept stage, but this could be an EV game-changer if Toyota can produce batteries capable of a 10-80% charge in 10 minutes.

Brand of the Year

Lotus

Lotus is right back on form and it’s great to see. The Emira is peak Lotus: light, responsive and fun; the Eletre shows that the British brand isn’t scared to embrace the future with a really impressive electric SUV; and the new Emeya saloon gives me plenty of reason to think the company has a bright future.

Highly Commended

Citroen

From the funky Oli concept to the loveable Ami electric two-seater to well-priced and practical family such as the C5 Aircross and C5 X, Citroen is on a roll. And the new C3 electric hatch looks like it’ll be the next hit

MG

Building and delivering big numbers of well-priced EVs, MG is heading into an exciting 2024 where its two-seat electric sports car becomes a reality

Tesla

Never dull, Tesla. As well as some big price cuts, this year it was a sudden major revamp of the Model 3, addressing criticisms around the comfort very successfully

Volvo

A company on a roll. The EX30 is impressive, and the EX90 is one of the most hotly anticipated cars of 2024

2024’s Most Anticipated New Car

MG Cyberster

The Cyberster is exactly the car we’ve all hoped for from MG – a brand riding the crest of the EV wave like almost no other. The electric two-seater sports car looks fantastic and the performance figures reckon 0-60 in three seconds could be on. We’re all very excited to get behind the wheel in 2024.

Highly Commended

BMW M5

Due to be unveiled in June, the M5 is going hybrid for the first time, and will be packing the horsepower to retain its super-saloon status

Fisker Ocean

Fisker’s first car is an electric SUV with sustainability at its core, as well as impressive range figures and a classy design

Hyundai Ioniq 5 N

Hyundai has put out a couple of mighty performance hatches in the i20 N and i30 N, but we can’t wait to see if the Ioniq 5 N can carry that over into electric performance hatches

Volvo EX90

The EX90 is a seven-seat electric SUV that has been a long time coming, but has all the makings of another big Volvo hit

Carwow Car of the Year

Volvo EX30

Volvo has absolutely smashed it out of the park. The little EX30 is the best all-round electric car, and the best all-round car, of 2023 and is priced to appeal to the head as much as the design and driving experience appeal to the heart. It’s got such charm and character, and is another persuasive argument for anyone thinking about going electric.