The 2024 Car of the Year has been announced with experts praising the hybrid vehicle for offering a luxury product for an attractive price.
The Lexus LBX has been named Car of the Year by What Car? at its annual awards ceremony held at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House in London.
While it has not yet launched, the self-charging hybrid has been described as a “game-changer”, with prices starting from £29,995.
It is understood that the first deliveries of the LBX will take place in March with customers being told to expect “craftmanship luxury” and a “signature driving experience”.
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The Lexus LBX
LEXUS
The Car of the Year Awards, which have been held since 1978, also saw the LBX win the Small SUV category, while Lexus also won the Reliability Award for a record seventh consecutive year.
Sister brand Toyota won the Family Car of the Year with its popular Corolla model and Estate Car of the Year thanks to the Corolla Touring Sports model.
Major manufacturers BMW and Kia were awarded three awards each, headlined by the Luxury Car Award and the Family SUV Award respectively.
While Tesla only won one award for its Model 3 RWD in the Executive Car category, the Elon Musk-led brand received the Technology Award for its new V4 Supercharger.
The Toyota Corolla Touring Sports model
TOYOTA
2024 What Car? Car of the Year Award winners
Car of the Year – Lexus LBX
Small Car – Renault Clio 1.0 TCe 90 Techno
Family Car – Toyota Corolla 1.8 Hybrid Icon
Hot Hatch – Mercedes-AMG A45 S Plus
Small SUV – Lexus LBX 1.5 Premium Plus
Family SUV – Kia Sportage 1.6 T-GDi 3
Plug-in Hybrid – Mazda MX-30 R-EV Prime-Line
Small Electric Car – MG4 EV SE
Executive Car – Tesla Model 3 RWD
Estate Car – Toyota Corolla Touring Sports 1.8 Hybrid Icon
Seven-seater – Land Rover Defender 110 D300 X-Dynamic S
Luxury Car – BMW X7 40d M Sport (Ultimate Pack)
Small Electric SUV – Smart #1 Premium
Family Electric SUV – Kia EV6
Coupé/Convertible – BMW 4 Series 420i M Sport (Pro Pack)
Sports Car – Porsche 718 Cayman GTS
Sports SUV – Ford Puma ST 1.5 Ecoboost 200 Performance Pack
Performance Car – BMW M3 Touring Competition xDrive
The Kia Sportage
KIA
Special awards were also handed out which saw Kia win the Tow Car Award, the Volkswagen ID 7 achieved the Safety Award while the Renault 5 was crowned with the prestigious Reader’s Choice Award.
What Car? editor Steve Huntingford, commented on the award winners and put particular praise on the Lexus LBX for standing out in a crowded market.
He said: “The title of What Car? Car of the Year is reserved for the model that has moved things on the farthest in the past 12 months, and this year, that’s the Lexus LBX.
“Despite competing in the hugely competitive small SUV market, it's a better all-rounder than every rival, not least because it's the first car in the class to combine hybrid efficiency with big-car luxury.
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The Porsche 718 Cayman GTS 4.0
PORSCHE
“And at a time when new car prices are going through the roof, it offers these strengths for an attractive price.”