Experts pick Britain’s ‘Car of the Year’ – including best value for money & motor perfect for families

THE winners of the UK Car of the Year awards have been revealed, including the "smartest spend" for Brits and the "most anticipated" model of 2025.

The awards saw a continuation of a rapidly growing trend in the UK market while also heaping praise on some interesting newcomers.

Experts from Carwow, led by chief content officer Mat Watson, gave out the firm's coveted awards for the 2025 model year today, with SunMotors getting an exclusive peek at the results.

After assessing hundreds of motors from all major brands, the judges crowned the Hyundai Santa Fe as the nation's best car.

Rolling off production lines since 2000, the Sante Fe took home the award for the first time thanks to its reputation for practicality and reliability.

It was also, no doubt, helped by the emerging trend for mid-sized crossover SUVs that has gripped Europe.

Virtually every brand is now producing at least one model in this class, but it looks like many are playing catchup to Hyundai more than two decades on from the Santa Fe's debut.

With prices starting from £46,000 it's not exactly on the cheap side.

But for its size, comfort and trim level it's definitely on a par with rivals in terms of affordability.

The win also marked a remarkable quadruple crown for Hyundai, as the South Korean firm also accepted the gong for Brand of the Year, while the Ioniq 5 N was named this year's 'Tech Trailblazer' and the Santa Fe also scooped the best Family Values.

Ashley Andrew, President of Hyundai & Genesis UK, said: “Throughout 2024, we’ve seen our products and the Hyundai brand honoured with an outstanding number of accolades and these latest awards from Carwow only further cement our position as a leading automotive manufacturer.

"Being named Brand of the Year is of course testament to our product line up, but also recognises the efforts of Hyundai employees across the UK as well as on a global scale.

"And wins for Ioniq 5 N and All-New Santa Fe, along with a Highly Commended for our latest model, Inster, prove that Hyundai is at the forefront in creating customer-centric models which continue to push boundaries."

Elsewhere, there were wins for a number of other big-name brands.

The Skoda Superb topped the Comfortable Cruiser ranks, while the BMW X5 was the Adventurer's Choice and the Ford Transit Custom was named Van of the Year.

On the electric side, the Kia EV9 was the Outstanding EV of the year while the hybrid Bugatti Tourbillon claimed the Desirability Award.

And as budgets are squeezed ever more, Dacia won the Smartest Spend prize with the £21,000 Duster.

The Romanian firm's Bigster was also put down as next year's Most Anticipated model.

Ben Carter, Chief Customer & Marketing Officer at Carwow, said: “We’re delighted to celebrate our Car of the Year award winners for 2025 to help more people change their cars with total confidence, while also driving additional demand for our brand and retailer partners.

“Through honest and impartial advice led by Mat Watson and his team of experts, we’ve helped over 10 million people change their cars with Carwow.

"We look at everything that really matters to car buyers, ensuring these awards are a major endorsement for the winners, from the UK's go-to destination for car-changing."