Trying to select the one best new car each year is a debate that causes endless arguments among motoring journalists. Every magazine and/or website has its own ideas about how such a title should be awarded.
Every reviewer is a human being with their own ideas and preferences. Every car review is one person’s (or one group of people’s) opinion of how good or bad a car is. If you’re only relying on one source, you’re not getting the full picture.
Our approach at The Car Expert is simple. We have tracked new car reviews from 25 of the top motoring websites over the last 12 months and compiled all of the scores awarded to each new model. And we’ve used that data to put together our list of the very best new cars of 2021.
We’ll be revealing the winners, including our first overall Car of the Year title, at 10 on Tuesday 21 December.
Best new cars and class champions
Shiny new cars certainly grab all of the attention in the motoring media, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re better than what’s already available.
In each of our award categories, we’ve recognised not just the best model launched in the last 12 months but also the top-ranked cars overall. In some cases, a new model has jumped straight to the top of the pile while, in others, an existing car is still top dog.
To help our readers appreciate the relative quality of the best newcomers, we’ve come up with Best New Models and Class Champions for each category. And, recognising the rapid growth of electric cars against the decline of petrol and diesel versions, we have separate class champion recignition for the very best electric and internal combustion cars.
Eligibility
There are a couple of conditions attached to our awards. A new model is a car that has arrived in the UK in the last 12 months – which means cars on the road and registered, not just announced or available to order. You should be able to pop down to your local dealer and see any of our award winners in the metal – and buy on one the spot, if you like (and if the dealer actually has any stock available, obviously!).
The second condition is that we will only award cars that have a current, valid Euro NCAP safety rating of at least four stars. That might not go down too well with some manufacturers, particularly if a newly-launched model hasn’t yet been tested by Euro NCAP, but it’s a point that we’re committing to.
Twice this year, we’ve seen cars publicly awarded trophies by magazines and then subsequently discovered that they have sub-par safety ratings. Dacia had to hand back a high-profile Car of the Year award in April (and hurriedly change a lot of its advertising material) after the new Sandero only scored two stars from Euro NCAP. The Renault Zoe was even worse – having been awarded plenty of trophies over the last couple of years, it recently scored a completely unacceptable zero stars from Euro NCAP.
We reject any arguments from car makers who say that Euro NCAP results are not relevant, especially when those same brands have been happy to trumpet their previous five-star scores.
The best cars of 2021
So that’s how we assess the candidates. The complete list of the best new cars on sale is now live, thanks to the unparalleled data of our Expert Rating Index.