07/03/2014 12:49
February saw the launch of a brand new awards ceremony, recognising some of the best cars released in the UK over the past 12 months.
The inaugural UK Car of the Year awards saw a judging panel made up of some of the top motoring journalists in the country put their heads together to create a definitive rundown of the best machines in a number of different vehicle classes.
We take a look at some of the big winners that drove away with the coveted awards.
Ford Fiesta ST
The newly crowned 'Best Performance Car' in the UK was praised by judges for its levels of fun, versatility and value, all packed into a little form.
It is powered by a 1.6-litre EcoBoost 180PS petrol engine allowing it to reach 62mph from standing in just 6.9 seconds, with a top speed of 139mph.
This is all possible achieving 47.9mpg fuel economy, making the Fiesta a worthy winner of the title.
Tim Pollard, editor at MSN Cars, said the car is: “A brilliant, democratised hot hatch: good value, great fun, so attainable. Fabulous!”
Citroen Grand C4 Picasso
The latest edition of the Grand C4 Picasso range has earned the title of 'MPV of the Year' from the esteemed panel of judges.
According to the experts, the stylish seven-seater has an 'impressive engine line-up', 'superb functionality' and 'family friendly features', all helping to deliver an overall 'feel-good factor' when on the road.
David Motton from Business Car/Good Motoring said the car is "hugely spacious and packed with clever features".
Despite only being released at the start of 2014, the model has already picked up other accolades, in the form of BBC TopGear magazine's 'Family Car of the Year' and What Car? magazine's 'MPV of the Year'.
Range Rover Sport
The all-new Range Rover Sport took the title of 'Best 4x4 Car' from the UK Car of the Year awards judges.
In the most recent of the iconic models, the new Range Rover takes advantage of Land Rover's breakthrough lightweight suspension design, as well as dynamic chassis technologies to deliver a quality performance.
It comes with a selection of V6 and V8 engines, which emit as little as 194g/km of CO2 on a combined 38.7mpg cycle.
The 5.0-litre V8 is able to sprint from 0-62mph in just 5.3 seconds, which is pretty impressive for a car of its undoubted stature.
Ken Gibson, motoring editor at the Sun, said the car drives "really well" on the road and is still "unbeatable" off it.
Mr Pollard at MSN Cars also said the car is a "brilliant multi-purpose vehicle", perfect for all environments and for transporting the family from A to B.
This is just a selection of the winners at the very first UK Car of the Year awards. These new accolades provide another thing for manufacturers to fight for when they release their models in the UK and add a little extra excitement to the market.
Which models will be successful next year?
Posted by Sebastian Turkenburg