The top 10 cars of 2024 according to our experts
What a year it has been. The pressure has been ceaseless and relentless on car makers and drivers alike, writes Andrew English.
The Chinese finally arrived in force with a range of electric vehicles (EVs) and also cheap petrol models, with market share achieved by disruptive low pricing, underpinned by their cheaper costs of production and wages.
The EU and the US reacted with a series of tariffs, but our mercantilist governments did nothing, hoping they could tame the dragon with reciprocal trade. We’ll see how well that goes as Chinese car markets suffer from an imploding property sector and concomitant recession, while their home-based manufacturers look overseas for easy profits.
If the Department of Trade and Industry was hoping that SAIC, MG’s owner, would build a tariff-busting car plant in the UK, it might have to think again as Galicia in Spain is looking the more likely candidate.
How much pressure? Well, consider that Volkswagen has announced plans to close at least three German factories, lay off tens of thousands of workers, cut wages and close entire departments. This is truly unprecedented. The German car industry employs about 780,000 well-paid workers, funds research and universities and is politically powerful. Yet president elect Trump’s proposed 10 per cent tariffs on all imports has shocked the Germans, with large falls in share prices of Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and BMW.
While German firms already have factories in the US, they’re at full capacity. Nor is Mexican or Canadian production a way into tariff-free America, since Donald Trump is threatening both (along with China) with additional tariffs on imports. If implemented, such tariffs will have ramifications for an industry that has invested heavily in Mexican production facilities including the US “big three” of Ford, General Motors and Chrysler.
As for Britain’s big exporters: this is going to hurt Land Rover, Rolls-Royce, Bentley and Aston Martin, for whom the US is a key market. Of the three, only Land Rover, with annual sales of 430,000, is large enough to warrant American production; however, its North American sales are only 90,000, which means it would have to export from the US to countries which might well have imposed reciprocal tariffs on American-made products – a global trade war benefits no one.
For now Britain’s luxury firms are relying on the economic phenomenon known as Veblen goods, where the normal rules of supply and demand are upended and the rich see a high price as a measure of desirability and quality – think of perfume and bikinis. Luxury car makers have long tested Thorstein Veblen’s theory to its elastic limit, though, without much idea where it snaps.
As for the UK, it has become a very expensive place to sell cars. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) reckons the motor industry will have had to incentivise EV sales to the tune of £2 billion this year as a result of the zero emissions (ZEV) mandate. Even the House of Commons library guides for new MPs acknowledges the scale of the problem. In 2023 only three per cent of the UK car parc were EVs. Access to reliable and cheap charging, high purchase prices and scepticism were listed as barriers to EV take-up.
For next year the ZEV mandate increases to 28 per cent, with fines of £15,000 for each non-compliant car (£18,000 for vans). Small wonder that companies have started to lobby the Government. Stellantis is closing its Vauxhall van plant at Luton, Toyota has threatened to leave the UK if the Government bans the sale of hybrid cars by 2030 and Nissan has called for “urgent action” to amend the ZEV mandate. The Japanese company, likely to merge with Honda, has already announced plans to shed 9,000 jobs worldwide and says the “outdated” ZEV mandate “risks undermining the business case for manufacturing cars in the UK, and the viability of thousands of jobs and billions of pounds in investment”.
It’s all rather terrifying. And while talks are apparently taking place with Government departments, one car maker told me: “I don’t think they really understand what they are doing.”
Not that there haven’t been some first-rate cars launched this year. Here are the 10 that myself and fellow Telegraph roadtester Alex Robbins would be happy to own – and we think you would, too.
Renault 5
Read our review of the Renault 5
The resurgent French firm’s finest moment of the year – and not just because the new 5 so brilliantly picks the best of the 53-year-old original as well as the spirit of the souped-up 5s such as the Gordinis, the turbo models and rally specials. Battery-powered but sharp as a tack to drive, with just the right chassis settings to recall the best of French ride and handling (a little body roll with lots of front-end grip, a soft ride and à point steering), this is a tour de force. Prices start at £22,995 for the smaller battery version, with a range of 190 miles, £26,995 for the bigger battery with a range of 248 miles. It’s going to be massively popular. AE
Aston Martin Vantage
Read our review of the Aston Martin Vantage
While the share price plummeted and profits seemed an ever-distant dream, this year Aston Martin produced some of the greatest cars in its 111-year history: the Vantage, Vanquish and Valour. Situation normal, you might say, although owner Lawrence Stroll would prefer a healthier balance sheet. One of the most affordable and drivable high-performance cars of the year, the £165,000 Vantage belies its ZF automatic gearbox and AMG-Mercedes V8 engine to provide a sublime driving experience, managing to combine superb handling with a pretty good ride quality. It’s great looking and has (just) enough space for long-distance touring – while petrol still lasts. AE
Alfa Romeo Junior Veloce
Read our review of the Alfa Romeo Junior Veloce
It’s the second EV and the third SUV in the current Alfa Romeo stable but much the best of all. Cheaper versions of this small EV crossover include a hybrid, but this top front-wheel-drive Junior is similarly based on the Stellantis CMP II platform which also underpins the Car of the Year-winning Jeep Avenger. A 54kWh battery powers a 204bhp/254lb ft motor, which gives a 124mph top speed, 0-62mph in 5.9sec and a range of 207 miles. Fast-acting steering and the addition of a differential have transformed the handling; the Veloce is indecently good to drive. Not cheap in this form (£42,295) but surely what an Alfa Romeo should be all about. AE
Porsche Macan 4 Electric
Read our review of the Porsche Macan Electric
I didn’t expect to like this much – after all, it’s a 4.8 metre family SUV with an EV drivetrain. But Porsche has thrown the kitchen sink at the Macan to get it to handle, go around corners and impart some feedback and fun to the driver. They have worked wonders. The £69,800 381bhp/479lb ft 4 is the cheaper version (although it’s £14,000 more than the cheapest petrol Macan…) and probably the sweetest to drive, but this being Porsche many buyers will only be satisfied with the £95,000 Turbo – which, despite the name, is also an EV. Great brakes, handling and fundamentals; it isn’t all downhill and dull in an electric future. AE
Toyota Prius
Read our review of the Toyota Prius
Much derided eco hero and favourite of Uber drivers, the Prius is now 26 years old. I wasn’t expecting much of this fifth-generation model, but Toyota has gone back to the drawing board to spice up its looks and dynamics. It’s been transformed into a good looking four-door coupé although sadly it’s a plug-in hybrid, rather than a pure (or self-charging) hybrid as before. When the battery was exhausted, I achieved a solid 55mpg while not hanging around. With prices from £37,315 it’s not cheap, but I’ve seen a fair few around since its launch this autumn so the appeal of a petrol/electric hybrid is clearly undiminished. AE
Hyundai Ioniq 5 N
Read our review of the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N
If you had told me 15 years ago that one of the best cars I’d drive in 2024 would be an electric SUV that made fake engine noise, I would have laughed in your face. Then I’d have laughed some more. And yet, against all odds, the Ioniq 5 N is utterly beguiling. Mainly because it’s not just an EV with a petrol drone coming through the speakers; it’s a bona fide machine with all the right hardware under the skin to rival the very best performance cars. It feels every bit their equal on the road, too – and even the petrol-mimicking bits are so well done that they actually add to, rather than detract from, the experience. AR
Bentley Continental GT
Read our review of the Bentley Continental GT
Another car that came as something of a surprise. The news that the latest Continental GT would get a plug-in hybrid powertrain did not exactly arrive to a chorus of approbation. But in the flesh, it turns out that plug-in power improves the Continental surprisingly well, giving one the choice between being whisked along in near-silence by the electric motors, or enjoying the ululation of the fabulous V8 petrol engine. And while the extra weight of batteries and so on doesn’t bode well in an already heavy car, chassis tweaks mean you don’t feel it from behind the wheel – in fact, this the deftest Conti yet. AR
Mazda MX-5
Read our review of the Mazda MX-5
Some large and heavy cars may have been surprisingly enjoyable, but this small and light one’s brilliance was completely expected. This year’s upgrades to the MX-5 were largely superficial, but driving one in the context of the hefty SUVs that increasingly line our thoroughfares was a reminder of just what a brilliant tool for fun the MX-5 is. That it continues to exist is a fact that should be celebrated – and that’s why, despite this being one of the oldest cars I’ve driven this year at its heart, this was still one of the best. AR
Porsche Cayenne S
Read our review of the Porsche Cayenne S
You can be as cerebral about cars as you want. But sometimes a car comes along that just tickles your more primal instincts – the Cayenne S was one such. The counterintuitive switch from V6 to V8 powertrains has brought with it an utterly glorious soundtrack which, matched to the addictive performance and electrifying handling, mean the latest Cayenne S is one of those truly glorious examples of late-stage petrol motoring. If you can afford to, which of course is a big if, buy one while you still can. AR
Hyundai Kona Electric
Read our review of the Hyundai Kona Electric
Battery power apart, the second Hyundai in my selection couldn’t be more different from the Ioniq 5 N. Yet both demonstrate how well Hyundai’s EVs currently seem to fit their brief. In the Kona, that brief is sensible, fuss-free family motoring. And from the lack of faddish touch-sensitive controls to the cosseting way it smothers bumps, to the warm fabrics used for the upholstery, that’s what you get. Sure, it probably won’t excite you, let alone thrill you like the Ioniq 5 N can – but the Kona manages to be that rarest of things: a down-to-earth, relatively frippery-free EV. And so much the better for it. AR
