And we are here! A new decade and straight into awards season! Not just the entertainment industry though – January sees the great and good of the UK car industry get together for the What Car? Awards, one of the most prestigious ceremonies in the country. So which award-winning cars stood out for us, and what 2020 car launches are we looking forward to in the EFT Finance office?
The Car of the Year
The Car of the Year Award went to the Ford Puma. Older readers will remember the original Ford Puma as a small, front driven coupe (and a former What Car? Car of the Year award winner). The new Puma is a small SUV, a key growth area for the UK market. It has a mild hybrid powertrain, marrying a small three-cylinder 1.0 litre engine with single cylinder cut-off to a 48-volt hybrid system. Also note that the car charges itself, you do not plug it in. Will this be the most prolific driveline template for the next few years?
Other contenders for the fabled Car of the Year award included the Tesla Model 3, Skoda Scala and Range Rover Evoque. On balance, I think the right car won. No one is sure if full electrification and Tesla is the mobility solution we require and the other two contenders offer little in the way of future technology or interest, as pleasant as they maybe.
The other notable winners
Other notable winners included BMW – the new 3 series won three awards, Best Plug-In Hybrid car, Best Executive car and interestingly, the Safety Award. This is awarded to the safest car on the market, gauged by the way of Euro NCAP scores, accident avoidance systems and safety to pedestrians should the worse happen. The 5 series won best luxury car, completing a four award trawl for the German brand.
The Electric cars
And what of Electric cars? The Tesla Model 3 won the Large Electric Car category, but I fear that Tesla’s market share is going to take quite a pounding when the mainstream manufacturers launch their rivals, such as the eminent BMW i4 and VW ID3. The Small Electric Car Category went to the Renault Zoe, with What Car? suggesting they managed 194 miles of range from it. Progress indeed.
Technology
Subaru won the Technology award. The brand is far from mainstream, but their new driver monitoring system is a stroke of genius, utilising facial recognition technology. It will spot the signs of a tired driver by picking up such parameters as eye movement and where you are looking. It also acts as a driver profile – so when your partner jumps in the car, it will recognise their face and adjust the seat position and other features to their setting.
We have our eyes on…
And what cars are we at EFT Finance looking forward to in 2020?
The new Land Rover Defender for one. It took the What Car? Readers Award, beating the VW ID3 into second place. The Defender needs to work for Land Rover, the Midlands and the UK. Initial purported order take suggests it will. On the other side of the SUV scale sits the Aston Martin DBX (a recent EFT blog subject), again, a car that will potentially rescue Aston Martin. The new VW ID3 and the BMW I4 could potentially democratise electric cars in 2020 but if these two-household manufacturers cannot find buyers, its time to start reviewing why electric cars are not catching buyer imagination.
And a purely self-indulgent view? The new Porsche Boxster and Cayman GTS sees a return to a six-cylinder engine, with a capacity increase to 4.0 litres and no turbos to speak of. A clear admission that the downsized and turbocharged four-cylinder powerplant was a mistake – the new Boxster/Cayman siblings will be all the better for it. No hybridisation, no electricity, just a traditional sports car. Far from pioneering, but remember, will you be able to buy anything like this soon?
By Neville Contractor
neville@eftfinance.co.uk | Mobile: 07720 441738