► Renault Scenic named Car of the Year 2024
► BMW 5-series second, Peugeot third
► Award kicks off Geneva motor show
The Renault Scenic is Car of the Year 2024, with the winner revealed at a Geneva motor show ceremony today (Monday 26 February).
The BMW 5-series took second place, and the Peugeot 3008 took the final step on the podium. The best car launched the previous year is voted for by a jury of 59 motoring journalists from 22 countries around Europe, including CAR’s Phil McNamara. Each juror has 25 points to distribute between five to seven cars on the shortlist, and can give a maximum of 10 to any one car.
Accepting the award, Renault’s engineering boss Gilles le Borgne said: ‘This award is a symbol for Renault: we are back in the game. In 2020 we were deep in the red, a few days ago we gave the best financials ever for Renault group. And there is more to come!’
Car of the Year 2024: all the cars ranked
This year’s voting led to this points table:
- Renault Scenic – 329 points
- BMW 5-series – 308 points
- Peugeot 3008 – 197
- Kia EV9 – 190 points
- Volvo EX30 – 168 points
- BYD Seal – 131 points
- Toyota C-HR – 127 points
Car of the Year – which will celebrate its 60th winner in 2025 – is one of the most democratic awards in motoring, democratically decided and free from any commercial sponsorship. Each juror has to publish the reasoning behind their verdicts, available at the CotY website.
The seven car shortlist was announced back in November, and here’s how we reported it.
Car of the Year shortlist announced
The Car of the Year 2024 shortlist is out – and BYD is the first Chinese car maker to be nominated for Europe’s top motoring award.
BYD has launched three cars in the UK market in 2023 alone, the Atto 3 midsize SUV, Dolphin hatchback and Seal saloon. And it’s the latter, Tesla Model 3 rival that’s got the nod from the jury of 61 motoring journalists from 23 European countries.
As usual, the jury – including Car’s Phil McNamara – has voted for their seven favourite cars from 28 eligible all-new models launched in 2023, amalgamated into this shortlist:
Car of the Year 2024 shortlist
• BMW i5/5-series
• BYD Seal
• Kia EV9
• Peugeot E-3008/3008
• Renault Scenic
• Toyota C-HR
• Volvo EX30
The shortlist contains four strictly EVs, two models – the BMW and Peugeot – available with both pure electric and combustion models, and the strictly hybrid Toyota C-HR.
The 2024 contenders in detail
BMW i5/5-series
It’s been around since 1972 and this G60 version is the eighth-incarnation of the 5-series. BMW has never won Car of the Year (its most recent second place with with the i3 in 2013). ‘This is a hugely accomplished EV,’ wrote Car’s Tom Wiltshire having tested the base i5 40 and M60 versions. Could the new big exec break its duck?
BYD Seal
BYD is the world’s second-biggest electric car maker after Tesla and the Seal has impressed with its interior quality and high-performance AWD version, which has a 3.8s on the back to showcase its 0-62mph acceleration sprint. ‘Dynamically, it’s impressive, with incisive steering and sharp handling and a firm suspension set-up,’ wrote Keith Adams for Car. Will BYD’s dream of winning COTY24 come true?
Kia EV9
The EV9 is a rare six/seven seat EV that isn’t van based. It’s based on Kia’s eGMP platform and is a big beast promising luxurious electric people moving. ‘As a solution to families wanting to decarbonise their large car, the EV9 does an excellent job,’ reckoned Piers Ward in Car’s EV9 review. Kia’s EV6 won Car of the Year 2022 – can its big brother repeat the trick?
Peugeot E-3008/3008
The 3008 needs little introduction: Peugeot sold 1.32 million of the second-generation SUV. Its replacement is launching as a pure electric version, which rolls on an all-new Stellantis architecture. Car’s Phil McNamara loved the E-3008’s cushy refined ride – read today’s first review to find out if Peugeot has delivered another impressive all-rounder.
Renault Scenic
Another reboot of a big French seller, the Scenic has morphed from MPV to pure electric SUV. ‘It’s spacious and – true to the Scenic philosophy – looks after the safety and well-being of those onboard. Plus it’s relatively lightweight,’ says Phil McNamara in the first review published today.
Toyota C-HR
The second generation of Toyota’s compact crossover now comes with a 2.0-litre hybrid, for more performance than the 1.8 hybrid. Another development will be a plug-in hybrid in 2024. ‘The new C-HR is solid, stands out, is capable of over 50mpg in the real world with ease, and is a refined drive that’s easy to live with,’ reckons Car’s C-HR review.
Volvo EX30
The pure electric, baby Volvo EX30 has wowed with its £34k price – partly enabled by being built in China on a Geely group platform and built in China. Indeed its sister model, the Smart #1, was also on the shortlist but edged out by the Swede. ‘It’d be very difficult to recommend a Corsa Electric or a high-spec Fiat 500e when for the same price you could have an EX30. Some rivals are better to drive – notably the even cheaper MG4 – but provided you get on with its all-touchscreen interior there are a lot of reasons to choose the Volvo,’ wrote Tom Wiltshire in his EX30 review.
When is the winner announced?
The Car of the Year is set to be announced at the 2024 Geneva motor show on 26 February 2024.
What do you think of this year’s shortlist? Please sound off in the comments below