Trying to select the best new car of the 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 30 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 2022.
We’ll be revealing the winners, including our overall Car of the Year title, at 9am on Tuesday 13 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 we’re committing to.
However, if a car was launched in 2021 but has since received a complying Euro NCAP score in 2022, it will be eligible for inclusion in this year’s awards. This applies to several cars – see the list below.
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 good results.
The class of 2022
Here, in alphabetical order, are the cars that are eligible for The Car Expert Awards 2022. As asterisk denotes a car that was launched in 2021 but only received a Euro NCAP score in 2022.
The following cars were also launched in 2022 but don’t, as yet, have a complying Euro NCAP score of either four or five stars. If they subsequently receive such a score, they will be included in our awards next year.
- BMW iX1
- Dacia Jogger
- Ferrari 296
- Genesis Electrified G80
*Update, 7 December: Euro NCAP today published its latest round of safety testing results, which confirmed that the MG 4 and Volkswagen ID. Buzz both scored five-star ratings. Unfortunately, this came too late for us to consider them for this year’s awards.
The awards will be announced at 9am on Tuesday 13 December, so check back for all the winners!
A look back at last year’s results
