THE stunning Range Rover Evoque has picked up one of Britain’s top motoring accolades by being named Car of the Year by Auto Express magazine.
The judges felt that the Liverpool-built Evoque – also chosen as the Best Compact SUV – was the most impressive new car of the past 12 months.
Priced from £27,955 the Evoque breaks new ground for Range Rover being as much of a style sensation as a true off-roader.
It’s built alongside the Freelander 2 at the Land Rover factory at Halewood on Merseyside and was designed in the Midlands at the company’s headquarters at Gaydon, Warwickshire.
Graham Hope, acting editor of Auto Express, said: “The Range Rover Evoque truly looks set to define a desirable new sector of the market on its own.
“This talented machine brings a much loved premium brand within reach of a wider audience than ever before, and marks a brave departure from its maker’s traditional strengths.
“It’s great to see that this year’s winner was designed, engineered and built in Britain.”
The Auto Express awards assessed the top buys in 18 classes of the new car market. Key criteria included fuel efficiency, driver appeal, practicality and reliability.
Other winners included the Hyundai i10, which was named Best City Car, and the Skoda Superb, which won the Best Family Car and Best Estate Car awards.
In addition to honouring the 18 class champions, Auto Express handed out seven special awards, including its first-ever Green Award, in recognition of a manufacturer’s environmentally friendly efforts. This went to Volkswagen’s BlueMotion model range.
GM Europe president Nick Reilly was also voted into the Auto Express Hall of Fame - the honour recognising the crucial role he has played in securing the future of Vauxhall.
The full list of winners is:
- Best City Car – Hyundai i10
- Best Supermini – Ford Fiesta
- Best Premium Supermini – Audi A1
- Best Supermini-MPV – Hyundai ix20
- Best Compact Family Car – Volkswagen Golf
- Best Crossover – Skoda Yeti
- Best Family Car – Skoda Superb
- Best Compact Executive Car – BMW 3 Series
- Best Executive Car – Audi A6
- Best Luxury Car – Mercedes S-Class
- Best Compact SUV – Range Rover Evoque
- Best Large SUV – Land Rover Discovery 4
- Best Estate – Skoda Superb Estate
- Best MPV – SEAT Alhambra
- Best Hot Hatch – Volkswagen Golf GTI
- Best Coupe – Peugeot RCZ
- Best Convertible – BMW 3 Series Convertible
- Best Roadster – Mazda MX-5
- Green Award – Volkswagen BlueMotion
- Performance Car of the Year – Ferrari 458 Italia
- Design Award – Saab PhoeniX
- Driver Power Award – Skoda
- Special Award – Ford Focus, Driver Assistance Pack
- Auto Express Hall of Fame – Nick Reilly, President, GM Europe
- Car of the Year – Range Rover Evoque