Mini wins 'Car of the Year' award

THE BRITS finally enjoyed some success this summer as the latest Mini was named Auto Express magazine's Car of the Year 2014 at a lavish ceremony in London’s West End.

This third-generation version of the Mini is built in Oxford, with engines made in Hams Hall near Birmingham and body panels coming from Swindon. As well as winning the overall Car of the Year Award, the Mini was also named Best Premium Small Car.

Auto Express editor-in-chief, Steve Fowler, commented: “The Mini is the perfect Car of the Year for 2014 – it’s a small car that’s big on talent. We love the way it drives, the quality, the efficiency and the big-car tech on board. It’s also built brilliantly in Britain – a car the UK can be proud of.”

Chris Brownridge, Director, MINI UK said: “The new MINI Hatch has received universal acclaim since we launched it earlier this year. A great deal of work has gone in to refining performance, handling, style and quality with this all-new model and this recognition from Auto Express is testament to that effort.”

There was further good news for British car makers with the new Jaguar F-Type winning Best Coupé, the McLaren 650S being named Best Performance Car and Nissan’s new Qashqai getting the Best Crossover Award. Nissan also took the Safety Award for its Safety Shield technologies.

Last year’s overall Car of the Year winner, the Seat Leon, came away with three Awards this time around as it was named Best Compact Family Car, Best Estate Car and Best Hot Hatch. The trophy for Van of the Year went to the Ford Transit, while Volvo was a surprise winner of the Design Award voted for by Auto Express readers.

Auto Express New Car Awards Winners 2014

Car of the Year: Mini hatchback

Best City Car: Skoda Citigo

Best Supermini: Ford Fiesta

Best Premium Small Car: Mini hatchback

Best Compact Family Car: Seat Leon

Best Crossover: Nissan Qashqai

Best Family Car: Mazda 6

Best Estate Car: Seat Leon ST

Best Compact Executive Car: BMW 3 Series

Best Executive Car: Audi A6

Best Luxury Car: Mercedes S-Class

Best Hot Hatch: Seat Leon Cupra

Best Convertible: Audi A3 Cabriolet

Best MPV: Citroen Grand C4 Picasso

Best Compact SUV: Porsche Macan

Best Large SUV: Hyundai Santa Fe

Best Coupé: Jaguar F-Type Coupé

Best Roadster: Porsche Boxster

Best Pick-Up: Volkswagen Amarok

Performance Car of the Year: McLaren 650S

Safety Award: Nissan Safety Shield

Green Award: BMW i3

Design Award: Volvo Concept Estate

Special Award: Tesla

Best Ad Campaign: Mercedes: Magic Body Control ‘Chicken’

Van of the Year: Ford Transit

By Press Association reporter