The Mazda MX-5 has been named as the winner of the UK Car of the Year Awards.
Announced on the same day as the much longer established European Car of the Year Awards, the UK event placed the roadster ahead of the Volvo XC90 SUV, with the Skoda Superb Estate taking third.
Both the European and UK awards are voted for by panels of motoring journalists and demonstrated the appeal of the Mazda to UK audiences. In the European awards the MX-5 was placed only third to the winning Vauxhall Astra and the Volvo, but the British jury of the Euro CoTY had the Mazda as a clear winner.
The UK awards were established in 2014 by Cox Automotive, a leading global automotive services business with 2,000 employees in the UK alone. The 27 journalists on the awards panel each chose a winner in 12 vehicle categories, before deciding the overall car of the year from their favourites in each class.
The awards process included for the first time in 2016 a media driving day featuring all of the category winners, hosted by Cox Automotive at its Manheim Bruntingthorpe auction centre in January.
The full list of category winners were:
Best City Car – smart Forfour
Best Supermini – Mazda2
Best Small Hatch – Vauxhall Astra
Best Family Car – Skoda Superb
Best Executive Car – Jaguar XE
Best Luxury Car – BMW 7 Series
Best Estate Car – Škoda Superb Estate
Best MPV – Ford S-Max
Best SUV – Volvo XC90
Best Coupe – Ford Mustang
Best Open Top Car – Mazda MX-5
Best Performance Car – McLaren 570S
