It’s coming to the end of 2024, and Christmas is approaching fast — you can tell because of the increasing levels of Mariah Carey and Michael Buble in the air. So it seems like a good time to look back on the past 12 months and choose our favourite cars of the year…
Best overall: Dacia Duster
The new Dacia Duster could so easily have been a massive miss-step for the popular Romanian brand. Dacia’s sales success thus far has been built on affordability and common sense, not on style yet here was a new Dacia in which design was set to be a major part of its appeal. Where previous Duster models had more or less looked like the simplest body you could wrap around the mechanical bits, this third-generation model was given a Derek Zoolander makeover, with piercing headlights, a crenellated bonnet, and a definite sense of style about it.
So, a mistake by Dacia? Not a bit of it. It may be more stylish — Dacia wants, in the future, to be seen as an affordable rival to Jeep — but the new Duster sticks to its affordable roots with prices starting at less than €26,000 for the basic model. Of course, that basic model is as basic as you can get — there’s not even a touchscreen (instead you get a rather clever clamp and socket to turn your mobile phone into the touchscreen) but where the old one just had rather drab, cheap plastics this one has plastics that are definitely cheap, but which have been given textures and shapes to make them more appealing.
Space is good too, although the back seats will be a touch tight for the very tall, but the best thing about the Duster is just how well it seems to suit Irish roads. The suspension has the right amount of give to stop too many bumps from coming through to the cabin, but it’s also not going to just fall over in corners. The basic 1.0-litre engine does the job fine, and the 1.3-litre 4x4 version has some serious off-roading ability should you need it, but the 140hp hybrid is the best all-rounder, with decent economy and a smooth driving experience. Highly recommended.
Best electric car: Polestar 4
The Polestar brand — having once been Volvo’s sporty car badge — came of age as a car maker in its own right this year with the addition of two new cars to join the updated Polestar 2 saloon (itself a far better car than its closest rival, the Tesla Model 3). The new Polestar 3, a big SUV with a chunky price tag, is impressive enough but it’s the Polestar 4 that’s the most intriguing. It’s technically a crossover — note the big wheels and high-ish ride height — but the bodywork is low-slung and sleek like a fastback saloon, and it looks fantastic. The cabin is just as nice, with a pleasingly minimalist Scandi style going on, and you’ll soon get used to the oddball lack of a rear window (it’s been replaced, for aerodynamic reasons, by a rear-facing camera system). Better yet, it has lengthy one-charge range and it’s pin-sharp to drive. Never mind the best electric car, the Polestar 4 might be the coolest new car to have launched in 2024.
Most sensible car: Skoda Superb Combi
Skoda was really dancing on the head of Hubris’ pin when it first named the Superb back in 2002. If it had been anything less than a really good car, the name would have become a bad joke. Thankfully, the name was entirely accurate, and the Superb has just kept getting better in successive generations. The latest, fourth-generation, model is even better again, although its price now reflects this betterment, as the Superb is no longer the bargain it once was. That’s OK though, because as soon as you slip behind the two-spoke steering wheel, you get a cabin that looks and feels as good as anything Audi makes, and which is so roomy — especially in this Combi estate version — that you keep expecting to hear an echo. It’s also smooth and refined to drive, and hugely economical too, whether you go for the diesel model, or the plug-in hybrid with its 120km+ electric range.
Best seven-seater: Mazda CX-80
This one kind of surprised us. The Mazda CX-60 — which shares its basic structure and mechanical parts with this CX-80 — is not the most wildly impressive car in the world, so how could just making it longer and adding extra seats make such a difference? We’re at a loss to explain it, but it has. The CX-80 is 250mm longer than the CX-60 and so is not only roomier, but it also looks better-balanced on the outside. In the back, you can choose from family-friendly seven-seat, or luxurious six-seat layouts and the new brown-and-black interior colour scheme highlights just how close Mazda gets to Audi and BMW levels of quality. The 2.5-litre petrol plug-in hybrid is impressive, although it doesn’t have as much electric range as we’d like, but if you’re a long-haul driver then the 3.3-litre straight-six mild-hybrid diesel (yes, you read that correctly) is a superstar of an engine, being both smooth and economical. The CX-80 isn’t cheap, but it’s certainly worth it.
Most exciting: Renault R5 E-Tech
How can a humble family hatchback be the most exciting car of 2025? Simple — when it looks as good as the new all-electric Renault R5. Renault has done something pretty much every other car manufacturer has struggled with — to make an electric car desirable, without ever needing to even mention that it’s electric. The R5 is both retro, in how it recreates the style of the classic 1980s Renault 5, and modern in how it uses LED light details and contemporary surfacing so that the R5 doesn’t look like a pastiche. Inside, the same trick is used — classical style, modern details, and it all works so well. The fact that it’s fun to drive, and has decent (if, alas, not exceptional) electric range are bonuses, and the affordable price tag is the cherry on this particular cake.
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