The Winners at This Year’s World Car Awards 2018

The World Urban Car is, as you’d expect, the category which specifically involves small cars, whether they are hatchbacks or superminis, that specialise in navigating urban environments. While these may not be the fastest or most glamorous cars on the market, they are the top-sellers in most countries so this is still a fiercely competitive class. The nominees for 2018 were the Ford Fiesta, the Suzuki Swift and the Volkswagen Polo. The winner was the Volkswagen Polo, which starts from £13,855 and was widely praised for its practical benefits and real-world economy figures.

Another desperately competitive award, the World Luxury Car was a battle between two manufacturers, Audi and Porsche, with the latter having two entrants, the new Porsche Cayenne and the new Porsche Panamera, whereas the Audi A8 was the third nominee. From the off, The Volkswagen Audi Group trophy was a dead-certain. It turned out that the panel voted in favour of the Audi A8 as the winner here. The levels of luxury, premium materials and refinement were deemed to be simply on another level to the rest of the market. Prices for the A8 start from £69,100 - which isn’t cheap, but this is a car for top-earners, and this award indicates that it is worth every penny.

Very tricky competition in this class because all the nominees, which are the BMW M5, Honda Civic Type R and the Lexus LC 500, are all undoubtedly performance cars but all in separate classes. A performance saloon, a super-coupé and a hot-hatch, respectively. Comparing them is tricky but the panel’s ballots, which were submitted in February, voted in favour of the BMW M5. In its class, it might not be the fastest, but it is certainly one of the most thrilling and well-rounded performance cars when compared to the rest of its competition. The starting price of the BMW M5 is £89,705 which is actually slightly below the rest of the market, making this particularly good value money, although still pretty expensive!

Perhaps the most important category for car makers nowadays is one that credits their green credentials. Across the globe, every single manufacturer is coming under more and more scrutiny over the sustainability of their cars. This has triggered a race among manufacturers to create the cleanest, greenest and most economically viable models on the market. The BMW 530e iPerformance is the first nominee, a performance-hybrid that carries the BMW badge and has impressed consistently since its introduction. Second, the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid, a car which isn’t sold in the UK but it's a hybrid minivan which is capable of over 84 mpg on a combined cycle. Then lastly, the new Nissan Leaf, which offers the greatest electric-only range on the market excluding the Tesla cars. So, who took the 2018 World Green Car trophy? The Nissan Leaf - which starts from £21,990, making it also one of the most affordable electric options on the market.

Another hugely decorated award, the World Car Design of The Year isn’t just about which manufacturer has created the most eccentric vehicle on the market, it is about which manufacturer has built a car whose design is both beautiful while also being functional. It’s been a good year for car design, and the 3 nominees are the Lexus LC 500, Range Rover Velar and Volvo XC60. All of which are undoubtedly gorgeous vehicles in terms of their appearance, but it was the Range Rover Velar that took home the trophy, and it’s easy to see why. Even among such stiff competition, the Velars design is so sleek, sophisticated and futuristic. Prices start from £44,830.

And finally, the top honour of the night. Last year it was the Jaguar F-Pace, in 2016 it was the Mazda MX-5 and 2015 it was the Mercedes C-Class. This year, though the winner of the 2018 World Car of the Year award is the Volvo XC60 - beating off competition from Mazda with their CX-5 and Range Rover with their Velar. It’s no surprise that all three nominees are SUV models, with SUVs being the fastest growing vehicle segment in the world, and all 3 offer genuinely exciting packages, all at different price points. The CX-3 is the cheapest and starts from £23,995, the Volvo XC60 which starts at £36,405, and the Range Rover Velar is the most expensive, with prices starting at £44,830.