DieselCar and EcoCar magazine is very pleased to announce the annual DieselCar and EcoCar Top 50, where the most capable new cars on sale today are celebrated.
Now in its third year, the DieselCar and EcoCar Top 50 is featured in the June 2018 issue of the magazine that goes on sale this Friday. The team of well respected writers have tested more than 175 new cars over the past 12 months, all evaluated in real-world conditions and driven with the target audience in mind. To qualify, the car must be on sale in the UK and be available for customers to order.
In creating the DieselCar and EcoCar Top 50, the team wanted to break away from the usual mundane format for Car of the Year awards, the type that has become predictable, with the same manufacturers always picking up the same accolades. The praise poured on the category winners is because they truly are the best in the segment, derived from the robust and comprehensive road test scoring system.
Ian Robertson, Editor of DieselCar and EcoCar Magazine, revealed the Top 50 line-up today, commenting; “Over the past 365 days, the DieselCar and EcoCar test team have evaluated every brand new diesel, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, electric, hydrogen and sub-100g/km petrol vehicle that has gone on sale, and in doing so has built up a definitive hit list of the best new cars on sale today.” He added; “I’m extremely pleased to announce that the Volvo XC40 has grabbed the number one spot this year – a car that has seen off some exceptionally tough opposition to gain pole position in this year’s Top 50, as well the class win for Best Medium SUV.” Concluding, Ian said; “There are elements of mini-XC90 to its design, but plenty of achingly cool touches like a contrasting roof and Swedish flag badges, that give the XC40 its own youthful personality.”
Last year’s winner, the brilliant Peugeot 3008 was narrowly beaten into second place by the XC40, with Ford’s new Fiesta in third place and grabbing the gong for Best Small Car. BMW’s 5 Series gained the title of Best Executive Car, and Land Rover’s Discovery was crowned Best Luxury SUV. In the Best Luxury Car class, it was the Mercedes-Benz S-Class that garnered the most votes.
Skoda won the prize for most class wins, with the Kodiaq securing the title of Best Large SUV, and the Superb grabbing both the Best Large Car and Best Large Estate Car awards. The Superb’s smaller brother added to the trophy cabinet by once again being given the coveted title of Best Medium Estate Car in this year’s Top 50.
Volkswagen’s Golf once again was the Best Medium Car, and SEAT’s new Arona took the Best Compact SUV award. The Audi A5 won the Best Coupé gong, while the Audi TT secured the title of Best Sports Car.
Ford’s Focus ST TDCi was voted Best Hot Hatch, with the family-sized S-MAX scooping the award for Best Large MPV. Citroën’s C4 Picasso and Grand C4 Picasso (Now C4 SpaceTourer and Grand C4 SpaceTourer) picked up the gong for Best Medium MPV.
For the more eco-focussed section of the magazine, EcoCar, the testers thought the newly launched Nissan Leaf was the Best Electric Car, with the Kia Niro securing the prize for Best Hybrid Car. The Golf GTE was named Best Plug-In Hybrid Car, and its baby sister, the up! city car was praised as the Best Sub-100g/km Petrol Car.
The full list of top 50 placings and category winners is found below:
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