Find out which motors impressed judges at the What Car? Car of the Year Awards 2015.
The Skoda Fabia has been crowned Car of the Year 2015 at the 38th annual What Car? Awards.
The Czech brand has scooped the overall top prize for the first time in 15 years. The winning Skoda Fabia TSI 90 SE model beat off competition from 25 other vehicles in the overall Car of the Year shortlist.
Judges praised the new Fabia’s turbocharged 1.2-litre petrol engine, combining punchy and flexible performance with impressive efficiency results.
The panel also commented on how practical and well-equipped the car was for such a reasonable cost. Technology that comes as standard on the Fabia includes a 6.5-inch touch-screen and a ‘Mirrorlink’ system that can sync with Android phones to provide sat-nav.
Overall the car was deemed to be the best all-rounder with no major weaknesses.
The Skoda Fabia TSI 90 SE was also named best small car by the magazine, beating big name rivals like the Ford Fiesta and VW Polo, while the new Skoda Octavia 1.2 TSI 105 SE scooped best family car.
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Category winners
The What Car? Awards 2015 are made up of 16 awards for motors launched in the past 12 months and one prize for the overall winner.
There are 14 class categories, a reader’s choice award and, new for this year, a safety award decided in conjunction with Thatcham Research.
The panel of 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 the starting prices for each.
|
Category |
Winner |
List price |
|
Car of the Year |
Skoda Fabia 1.2 TSI 90 SE |
£13,390 |
|
City Car |
Hyundai i10 1.2 Premium |
£10,810 |
|
Convertible Car |
Audi A3 Cabriolet 1.4 TFSI 150 Sport |
£27,485 |
|
Coupé |
Audi TT 2.0 TFSI Sport |
£29,860 |
|
Electric Car |
Audi A3 e-tron |
£29,950 |
|
Estate Car |
Ford Mondeo Estate 1.6 TDCi 120 Econetic Zetec |
£23,045 |
|
Executive Car |
BMW 520d SE automatic |
£33,515 |
|
Family Car |
Skoda Octavia 1.2 TSI 105 SE |
£17,660 |
|
Hot Hatch Car |
Ford Fiesta ST-2 |
£18,250 |
|
Large SUV |
Range Rover Sport SDV6 HSE |
£61,250 |
|
Luxury Car |
Mercedes-Benz S350 Bluetec L SE Line |
£66,910 |
|
MPV |
Citroen Grand C4 Picasso 1.6 e-HDi 115 Exclusive |
£23,510 |
|
Small Car |
Skoda Fabia 1.2 TSI 90 SE |
£13,390 |
|
Sports Car |
Porshe Boxster 2.7 |
£39,350 |
|
Small SUV |
Nissan Qashqai 1.5 dCi 110 N-tec 2WD |
£23,450 |
|
Safety Award |
Land Rover Discovery Sport |
£32,395 |
|
Reader Award |
Honda HR-V* |
TBC |
*On sale Spring 2015
Source: What Car?
Audi scooped three awards. The A3 Cabriolet won best convertible car, the TT nabbed best coupé and the new A3 e-tron was named best electric car.
[SPOTLIGHT]Another big winner was Ford, which picked up two awards. The new Mondeo took the best estate car award, while the new Fiesta scooped best hot hatch.
The British-built Nissan Qashqai, last year’s Car of the Year winner, secured the prize for best small SUV for the second year running with its new N-tec range.
The cheapest winning car can be found in the city car category, which was awarded to the Hyundai i10 1.2 Premium. This motor starts from £10,810 on the road, and comes with Hyundai’s five-year unlimited mileage warranty and roadside assistance package.
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Used car alternatives
The What Car? Car of the Year Awards judge motors that were launched in the last 12 months.
However, newer models are bound to be out of some people’s price range.
Luckily the magazine also holds an annual Used Car of the Year Awards in September, naming the top nearly new models which might suit more budgets.
Find out which models made an impact in The Best Used Cars 2014.
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More on cars:
25 ways to cut your car insurance