http://www.autoexpress.co.uk SpecialIssue 35
THOUSANDSofAutoExpressreadersfired
uptheircomputersearlierthisyeartogive
feedbackonthenewcarsthey’dboughtover
thepast24months.Thoseopinionsallowed
ustocloselyprofilethelong-termexperiences
75newcarsgaveownersintherealworld.
Over31individuallyrankedsubjectareas
andninebroadcategories,youtoldusall
thereistoknowaboutthesecars,taking
ineverythingfromthesmoothnessofthe
gearboxesandthesharpnessoftheir
steering,tothecomfortofferedbythefront
seatsandhowslicklytheirinfotainment
systemspairwithyoursmartphones.
OwnersscoredtheefficientToyotaPrius
sohighlyittookourDriverPowernewcarof
theyeargoldmedal,whilethesleekLexusIS
finishedsecond,andthesharp-handling
AlfaRomeoGiuliacamethird.
Aswellasoverallwinners,wehighlighted
whichmodelswerebest-in-class,helpingyou
findatoppickregardlessofwhetheryou’re
afteranopen-toproadster,apracticalMPV,a
luxuriousexeccaroranefficientrunabout.
BESTMPV
Citroen C4 Picasso
THECitroenC4Picasso(nowrenamedthe
SpaceTourer)didwhatanMPVshouldby
impressingyouwiththeenormouslevel
ofpracticalityitoffers.DespiteMPVsales
havinggivenwaytotheriseoftheSUV,the
Picassoservesitsroleasafamilycarwell,
offeringnumerouschild-friendlyfeatures
andflexibleseating,whilebeingeasyon
yourwalletbydeliveringimpressivefuel
economy.YousaidtheCitroenhasagood
ride,too,alongwithcomfortablefrontseats
andplentyoflegroomforpassengersin
theback.Theexteriorwasalsowellrated,
whilevisibilitywasanotherstrongpointfor
theFrenchcar,thanks,presumably, tothe
largewindowsandhighseatingposition.
BESTELECTRIC CAR
Hyundai Ioniq
AVAILABLEasaconventionalhybrid,plug-in
hybridorEV,itwasinthelatterguisethatthe
eighth-placedHyundaiIoniqstoodoutin
DriverPower2019,winningthetitleofbest
electriccar.Lowrunningcostswereahuge
advantage,youtoldus,withaffordable
servicinganotherhighlightforowners.You
alsolikedtheIoniq’simpressivearrayof
safetyfeatures,aswellasitsgoodreliability
andstrongbuildquality.Infotainmentwas
anotherpositivearea;readerswerehighly
complimentaryofthesat-navinparticular.
TheHyundaimanagedtowinyourfavour
whenitcametoitselectricpowertrain,
whichyoufound–perhapsunsurprisingly
–tobesmoothandquiet.
BESTPREMIUM LARGE SUV
Lexus RX
OURthirdclass-winningLexus–butnot
ourlast,amazingly–istheRX,whichtakes
thecrownasthebestpremiumlargeSUV.
TheRXblewawayallrivalsforinteriorbuild
qualityandyoucouldn’thavebeenmore
impressedwiththecabin.Yousaidthe
hybriddrivetrainwassmooth,whilethe
car’sstaunchreliabilityprovidedvaluable
peaceofmind.YoualsofoundtheRXtobe
highlypractical–asalargeSUVshouldbe
–anditshandlingmorethanimpressed.
Ownersrateditasasafecar,too,although
runningcostslettheRXdown,andits
infotainmentsystemwasalsocriticised.
ThislastitemisalmostasuniversalaLexus
hallmarkasqualityanddependability.
BESTEXECUTIVE CAR
Lexus GS
PRODUCTIONoftheLexusGShascometo
anendinEuropetomakewayforthenew
ES,buttheoldcarstillwonplentyofpraise
fromourreaders.Notonlydiditachievean
impressiveninthplaceoverall,butitwas
alsorankedbestexecutivecarthankstoa
numberoffactors,chiefamongwhichwas
thegreatreliabilityandsturdybuildquality
thathavebecomenear-synonymouswith
Lexus.YoufoundtheGSapleasuretodrive,
courtesyofatop-notchengineandgearbox,
andsaidthemodel’slookshaveagedwell,
whileyou’realsohappywiththequalityand
comfortoftheinterior.Factorinexcellent
rideandhandling,andit’sclearwhyyou
rankeditasthebestexecutivecararound.
BESTSPORTS CAR
Lexus RC
FINISHINGoffourrundownoftheDriver
Powerclasswinnersisthefourthandfinal
Lexushere.Theimpressivequalitiesthe
brandhasbecomeknownforareevident
inthissportycoupé.TheRC,whichwas
recentlyfacelifted,ranked31stoverall,and
wascrownedbestsportscar,beingunbeaten
forreliabilityandbuildquality.Itlivedupto
itssportscarname,too,becauseyourated
theengine,gearbox,rideandhandling
highly.YouravedabouttheRC’slooks,
whilesafetywasyetanotherkeywinning
point.Thesequalitiesarealmostuniversal
acrosstheLexusrange,asisfeedbackfrom
ownersthatsaystheJapanesemarque’s
infotainmentsystemsaren’tgoodenough.
BESTCOMPACTEXECUTIVE CAR
Lexus IS
THELexusIScameinsecondplaceoverall
inDriverPower2019andwasconsequently
rankedasthebestcompactexecutivecar.
JustaswithitslargerGSbrother,readers
weresmittenwiththeIS’ssmoothand
quiethybridpowertrain,whilereliability
–asyoumightexpect–wasanotherplus
pointfortheLexusoveritscompetitors.
Ownersalsohavenothingbutpraisefor
thebuildquality,insideandout.That
hybridpowertrainwasabighelpin
bringingdownrunningcosts,too,giving
theISyetanothervictoryoverother
compactexecutivecars.Anotherkeypoint
ofsuccessfortheLexuswassafety;you
spokehighlyofthevarioussystemsfitted.
BESTCOMPACTFAMILYCAR
Toyota Prius
NATURALLY, theoverallwinnerof
DriverPower2019cametopofits
class.YousaythattheToyotaPrius
isBritain’sbestnewcartoownfor
anumberofreasons,includingthe
incrediblefueleconomyofferedbythe
hybridpowertrainanditslowoverall
runningcosts.YoualsosaidthePrius
isquick,quietandsmooth,withthe
latterqualitybeingcomplementedby
acomfortableride,creatingarefined
andrelaxingdrivingexperience.
AnotherwinningpointfortheToyota
wasthewideselectionofsafety
technologytobefoundonboard.
BESTROADSTER
Mazda MX-5
IN22ndplaceoverallthisyearwas
theMazdaMX-5;unsurprisingly,your
favouriteroadster.Itoffersamazingly
entertaininghandling,asyoumight
expectfromacarthat’sdesignedfor
drivingpleasure,anditwashighly
ratedforridecomfort.Theengine,
gearboxandresponsivebrakeswere
praised.YoulovedtheMazda’ssporty
exteriorlooks,werehappywiththe
MPGandrunningcosts,andfoundits
infotainmentand phoneconnectivity
passedmuster.YoufeltsafeintheMX-5,
despiteitssmallsize,whilereliability
andbuildqualityalsoimpressed.
Ownersscored
the efficientToyota
Prius so highly it took
our newcar of the
year gold medal
22001199
DIDYOUKNOW?TheinfotainmentsystemsinlargeSUVshadthehighestsatisfaction
rating,at92.35percent,whilecitycarswereratedworstinthisarea,at84.77percent.