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.

*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.

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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.

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.

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