New Car Awards 2022: the winners

Just as the motor industry thought it had weathered the Covid-19 storm, the sector has faced yet more turbulence due to chip shortages and, more recently, the war in Ukraine. But tough times bring innovation, and car makers have adapted; the 12 months since our last New Car Awards have seen some great new products arrive, from affordable family transport to advanced EVs, tech-filled SUVs and impressive performance machinery.

So the challenges that brands are facing don’t seem to have impacted the quality of the cars on offer. The market is undergoing huge change, but combustion-engined models still play a huge part in our awards despite more and more EVs featuring. Electric cars are developing at such a pace, delivering impressive ability, while petrol power has plenty of life left in it yet. 

It’s incredible to see the development in just one year, and our 2022 awards show exactly how far things have progressed.

Our awards categories are designed to mirror the UK car market and the kind of cars that you are buying. The aim is to help you pinpoint the cars that our exhaustive testing has led us to identify as the best in their respective classes. To put it simply, if you’re buying a new car today, we think these are the best cars of each type to choose.

This means that we have a mix of brand new models and long standing favourites among the 2022 award winners, as we do every year. The Renault Clio has been our Supermini of the Year for three consecutive years while the Mercedes GLA has also made it the hat-trick this year. The Ford Ranger has held the pick-up truck crown for four years and the MINI Convertible has now been our Convertible of the Year for half a decade.

Then there are new cars, and vans, that have gone straight in at number one in 2022. The outstanding Nissan Ariya, Dacia’s Jogger, the Renault Megane E-Tech Electric, Ford’s E-Transit, these are ground-breaking new models that set the standards rival brands will now have to beat.

From comfort, quality and technology to performance and handling, the standard in the new car market as a whole has never been higher. Cars just keep getting better and that can only be good news for consumers. We hope you enjoy our New Car Awards coverage and that our selections can help you in the search for your next car. 

This year we’re delighted to announce that the New Car Awards are brought to you in association with Hankook tyres, with the electric car and van categories in association with Osprey Charging.

Bookmark us now and follow our social media accounts to get news of the 2022 New Car Awards winners first. You can have your say on our choices by using the #aeawards hashtag.

To get your special New Car Awards issue of Auto Express magazine click the links below…