Talk about an entrance - electric newcomer the Citroen e-C3 has just been named ‘Car of the Year’ for 2024 just days after becoming available to lease.
The accolade comes from top motoring mag Auto Express in its annual New Car Awards, who also awarded the e-C3 the ‘Affordable Electric Car of the Year’ title.
Meanwhile the updated, traditionally-fuelled Citroen C3 - which arrives this September - also picked up the gong for ‘Supermini of the Year’.
Auto Express editor Paul Barker said: “2024 was one of the most competitive years for the New Car Awards, which makes the fact that the new Citroen C3 scooped two category wins on the way to the overall win an even more outstanding achievement. Citroen’s Advanced Comfort tech, applied to its suspension and the seats inside a spacious cabin, give the C3 plenty of appeal on its own. However it’s the prospect of a fully electric version, priced from less than £22,000, that cements its place at the top of a very impressive list of shortlisted cars.”
The electric e-C3 is tempting indeed, coming with a range of up to 198 miles between charges as well as rapid 100 kW DC charging capabilities.
Elsewhere at the Auto Express New Car Awards, Hyundai collected the most trophies overall with four across its i10 hatchback (City Car of the Year), Kona (Small Company Car of the Year), Tucson (Mid-size SUV of the Year) and Ioniq 5 N (Performance Car of the Year) models.
The ‘Family Car of the Year’ silverware went to the recently-updated Skoda Octavia while the Skoda Superb (above) also walked away with the ‘Estate Car of the Year’ prize.
The unmistakable Honda Civic Type R (above) accelerated past a glut of competitors to be named ‘Hot Hatch of the Year’.
And in the commercial vehicle categories there were big wins for the Ford Ranger (Pick-Up of the Year, above), Ford Transit Courier (Van of the Year) and Ford e-Transit Custom (Electric Van of the Year).
You can check out the full list of winners below:
- Car of the Year - Citroen e-C3
- Affordable Electric Car of the Year - Citroen e-C3
- Supermini of the Year - Citroen C3
- City Car of the Year - Hyundai i10
- Family Car of the Year - Skoda Octavia
- Estate Car of the Year - Skoda Superb
- Small Company Car of the Year - Hyundai Kona
- Mid-size Company Car of the Year - Tesla Model 3
- Large Company Car of the Year - Kia EV9
- Small SUV of the Year - Dacia Duster
- Mid-size SUV of the Year - Hyundai Tucson
- Large SUV of the Year - Skoda Kodiaq
- Small Premium SUV of the Year - MINI Countryman
- Mid-size Premium SUV of the Year - Lexus NX
- Large Premium SUV of the Year - Porsche Cayenne
- Luxury Car of the Year - BMW 7 Series
- Hot Hatch of the Year - Honda Civic Type R
- Coupé of the Year - Maserati GranTurismo
- Convertible of the Year - Mazda MX-5
- Performance Car of the Year - Hyundai Ioniq 5 N
- Premium Electric Car of the Year - Porsche Taycan
- Affordable Hybrid Car of the Year - MG3
- Premium Hybrid Car of the Year - BMW 530e
- Pick-up of the Year - Ford Ranger
- Electric Van of the Year - Ford e-Transit Custom
- Van of the Year - Ford Transit Courier
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