In our first full year of blogging, I felt it was only right that we offer our own take on the best and worst cars of the year, I am not sponsored by, or involved with any motoring manufacturer, so there is no bias towards any brand, even though we do have our favourites, we will be totally bias free, there will be a number of categories, and the ultimate car of the year.
SMALL CAR - from Micro to Supermini, the nominations are
SUZUKI SWIFT - The Small car that has helped turn Suzuki into a world class car manufacturer, with regular updates and upgrades, which keep the car fresh and modern, the Swift earns its place on the list.
FIAT 500 - The rebirth of an Icon continues apace, with expanded ranges, which now include the 500L, XL, Trekking and the new 500X, the sales cant lie, the new 500 is the car, that has saved FIAT once again.
HYUNDAI i10 - The i10 has single handedly given Hyundai some stunning sales numbers, and when the UK had its own "Scrappage Scheme" the i10 was one of the major stars, in fact one was purchased for the Mother-in-Law (but that's no reason to not have one... LOL ed)
CITROEN C1, PEUGEOT 108, TOYOTA AYGO - This threesome (ooeer missus) is the second generation of co-operation to produce three distinct cars, the Peugeot is definitely the best of the three, with the Toyota last, this time around, more distinction between the brands is evident, and it clearly shows.
MAZDA2 - The new mazda2, carries on where the Mazda6 and Mazda3 have started, with Skyactive Technology and the KODO - Soul of Motion design influence, Mazda has hit another home run, it is not surprising that Mazda sales worldwide are flying high.
MEDIUM CAR - This sector is a fiercely fought one, with the Golf, Focus and Astra being the big hitters.
FORD FOCUS - The facelift and tweaks to the exterior, along with a reworked interior, gives the Focus a fresh stance, but will it be enough to take the award.
VAUXHALL ASTRA - The British built hatch and estate are showing signs of age, but 2015 sees the arrival of a brand new Astra, along with new Corsa and VIVA, 2015 is a huge year for Vauxhall.
MAZDA3 - Like the Mazda2, above, the "3" is a new version of the ever popular car, yet, Mazda has taken the bold step to bring a saloon to the UK, when all the others have dropped saloons, Mazda is having huge success with their version, will it mean saloon versions of other cars, who knows, Mazda are just enjoying high sales.
PEUGEOT 308 - The totally refreshed Peugeot line-up, now has its youngest full range in its history, and it shows, with sales flying high, awards, filling the shelves and profits returning to the brand for the first time in years, however, has the 308 been out too long to take another award ?
CITROEN C4 CACTUS - At long last Citroen has gone back to it's roots with comfortable, quirky cars, the cactus, does away with a number of fripperies to save weight and give better MPG, and low cost taxation, the spartan interior, looks quality, the seats are hugely comfortable, the dealers, well, they need dealing with, as they are the brands biggest let down.
LARGE CAR - From the mile munching Company car to the Executive saloon, this is teh sector to win.
MERCEDES C-CLASS - The new C-Class has really hit the nail on the head, shame that it has already had a rather large recall, but when you executive saloon, looks like the huge S-Class, who is not going to like that, with better interiors, and smoother and more frugal engines, the C-Class is a world beater.
FORD MONDEO - An odd choice this one, it has to be added, as Ford has ruled the company car, car park for decades, and the new Mondeo, although years late in arriving, and already looking dated, is a large enough jump from the current one, to be a true contender this time around.
AUDI A4 - or is the A3, or A6 or maybe the A8, can anyone actually tell the difference, I know i get it wrong, the AUDI A4, is a good car, but is great, is it good enough to beat the competition, or will it falter at the last hurdle because of the poor and lazy design language tat AUDI has had for years, thankfully it is changing, but thats not soon enough for this years award.
TESLA MODEL S - now i have chosen this as it has to be a contender, it is new, modern, has tons of space, is a hybrid that does decent mileage, the double tablet dash design looks stunning and the overall look of the car stands way ahead of its competition
VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT - A good car is the standard these days, whereas a great car is hard to find, and here the VW leads, whether it be the saloon or Estate, the Passat has proven to be an ideal choice for millions around the globe, and in the UK, it is hugely popular, but will it win ?
JAGUAR XE - the new car that will make or break Jaguar, will teh staid looks hinder sales, or has Jaguar got it right, will the featureless interior harm its outlook or will it sell like hotcakes, find out next year.
LUXURY CARS - The cars we would all love to own, but know 99.9% of us never will.
BENTLEY FLYING SPUR - The Spur is the middle range car from teh British Luxury brand, this was chosen because it was not as brash as the Mulsanne, and is a far more achievable option, plus it looks far better than the Mulsanne in our humble opinion.
ROLLS ROYCE GHOST - The same for the Ghost, it is not as big and ugly as the Phantom, and the Wraith is not really that pretty either, but the Ghost is, it looks just spot on, with the flying lady on the front to teh ultimate in luxury on the inside, whats not to like.`
MASERATI GHIBLI - With the help of FIAT's money and Ferrari's luxury know how, the Maserati brand is growing, with new saloons, and sports cars, and a new SUV on the way, the Ghibli is not overly pretty, but it has everything you need for a car in this class, but a little cheaper than the others.
ASTON MARTIN RAPIDE - Why on earth have you chosen this, I hear you all shout, well, its an Aston, and it seats four with four doors, the last Aston to have four doors was the Lagonda from 1974, until now with a new lagonda, which wont be available in Europe, fools.
MERCEDES S-CLASS - The Uber Saloon, the S-Class has always been teh car that has launched new tech, which then filters down the ranges, the new S-Class, and the ultimate S-Class, the Maybach, pushes luxury one step further, but it is still a Mercedes and has not got teh cache of Rolls or Bentley
RANGE ROVER - The greatest off roader ever, the biggest lauxury off roader ever, what ever you want, this car can delivery it, whether it is wafting along an Autobahn at 150mph, or taking it offroad, and utilising all teh toys to keep it safe and free from scratches, the Rangie has been a part of UK folklore for 40+ years, and will continue to do so for as many more.
COUPE/ROADSTER - the midlife crisis car, well, not for me, I cant get in or out of them.
JAGUAR F-TYPE - the rebirth of the brand continues apace, the XF breathed life into a dying brand, teh XJ boosted that further, along with upgraded XK and now the F-Type, this is undoubtably the best looking Jaguar, and the best jag Sports car since the E and D Types, will it win though.
TOYOTA GT86/SUBARU BRZ - The twin brothers, are actually triplets as the SCION brand in the US sells a version of this car, it has received frequent updates and uupgrades and price cuts, its now the best value coupe you can get, and with the Boxer engines from Subaru, they go and sound awesome too.
MAZDA MX-5 - The latest version, at long last, has been released, if only to teh motoring press, but the pictures are as close as you can get at the moment, the front looks like an elephant has sat on it, but the MX-5 will sell, because it has pedigree and history, and with a new race series as well, the car will be extremely popular.
CHEVROLET CAMARO - Not a car that you can find on the UK shores very often, but the Camaro, is stunning, we get to see it more frequently on the TV shows Hawaii five-O and NCIS-LA, where they are utilised every episode, the low slung, V8 burble, just oozes US muscle, and deserves to be here, more so than the Corvette.
AUDI TT - The TT was a master stroke for AUDI, what appeared as a random concept, that they took the risk on, and didnt change it at all for the actual production car, and the rest, as they say, is history, a number of TT based concepts have appeared recently with AUDI stating they want to expand the TT range, the TT four door looks stunning.
SMALL SUV/CROSSOVER - The biggest growth market, with all manufaturers building these models
RANGE ROVER EVOQUE - The Evoque was a massive gamble for Land Rover, and it has paid off handsomely, based on the underpinnings of the Freelander 2, the Evoque was a styling exercise, when all that came before it were square, boxy and utilitarian, the Evoque proved you could have the off road ability with good looks, and since the model arrived, the RR and RR Sport have both become more curvacious.
DISCOVERY SPORT - The new Freelander, but dont say that to Land Rover, they will get one on... LOL... teh new DS, is exactly that, but at a vastly inflated price, with lots of parts bin trim, and fixtures, the D S is more like a rehash rather than an all new model, and that price, they are really taking the piss with that.
NISSAN QASHQAI - The Nissan CashCow, as most people call it, for obvious reasons, has given Nissan a massive boost in profits and sales, all round the globe, its just been tweaked, and further enhanced, it is a great car, mopre suited to on road, I wouldn't want to take it off road, unless i havd a Land Rover to drag me out.
JEEP CHEROKEE - Jeep is having a major renaissance of late, with huge sales jumps, all over the globe, teh Cherokee and Grand Cherokee, are in part responsible for this, ignore teh funny looks, and you will have a great car, even though you do get teh standard typical utilitarian US interior, hopefully under FIAT control, the Chrysler Group brands will have some much needed upgrades in interior quality and style.
VAUXHALL MOKKA - Vauxhall has added a samll SUV, and it is not half bad, the 1.4 auto is a great version, but you do get the standard Vauxhall interior, which has about two million buttons and dials, it can be offputting, but once you get past that, and some hard scratchy plastics, in SE trim, you can get a decent discount, shame Vauxhall has dumped the lifetime warranty, it was a deal clincher for a lot of people.
LARGE CROSSOVER/SUV - For Families or those that like to Lord it over the rest of us
DISCOVERY 4 - getting extremely old now, but still one of teh class leaders, its look has been tweaked over teh years, but time is not a great friend to car design, and teh Discovery is now well past it's sell by date.
RANGE ROVER - The daddy of all 4x4's, this is the car that started it all off way back in the early 1970's, the classic Rangie was a stunningcar thats been improved and moved up market with each variation, its now in the uber car catagory, along with Bentley, Rolls, Maserati and the like.
JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE - The SRT version of this car is a stunning, storming piece of automotive excellence, Jeep continue to improve month after month, and the Grand Cherokee has helped to push the parent company into high sales and improved market share.
MAZDA CX-5 - the CX-5 was one we tested a while ago, now, it was a great looking car, but a car in this sort of price catagory needs to be better than great, it needs to be exceptional, the new facelifted version was previewed here, recently as a leaked picture or two appeared, will it beat the daddy or the brash US cousin, well see.
AUDI Q7 - The Q7 is one of those vehicles that does everything nicely, as you would expect from supposed German precision, but the Q7 does not really stand out, apart from it;s size, that is, cars in the bracket need to stand out, and i feel this does not, but over all, its a great package.
VOLVO XC-90 - Well, after years and years of waiting we at long last have the new XC-90, and wow, was that wait worth it, with the worries of whether the brand would suffer under Chinese ownership, this new SUV, as well as the complete refresh of the rest fo the range, has shown the Chinese are happy to let Volvo do it right, and the sales, and profits show that this is working extremely well.
HYBRID/PHEV - The cars that are supposed to be the best for the environment, but are they any good ?
MITSUBISHI OUTLANDER PHEV - The massive seller for Mitsubishi, who would have though that the could have pulled this off, a huge SUV, thats so good for the environment, and huge mpg as well, it makes you wonder what other SUV producers are doing wrong that they have got it so right.
TESLA MODEL S - Tesla, a lone company thats having a task being allowed to sell it cars in certain states in the USA, but why, this is the way forward for cars, it has great looks, massive space, lots of leg room front and rear, and uptodate tech, whats not to like, shame that some feel threatened by Tesla, this is one car that deserves to sell better than it does, and it will, once more charging stations, dealers and models arrive.
BMW i8 - An electric powered Sports car, ok, but a very limited sales proposition, BMW have sold just 13,000 of their "i" branded cars this year, which is not a great deal, 300 per week, worldwide, over two models, maybe they should have gone with a different model, maybe an SUV, and the sports car later
BMW i3 - The i3 is a weird little thing, like its bigger brother, bother have looks only a mother could love, and to be honest, it is the badge that people buy, there can be no other reason, why esle would the hideous 1-Series sell, or teh X4/X6, some of the ugliest on the road.
VOLKSWAGEN e-GOLF - One of the worlds best selling cars now has now entered the environmental segment, like most of teh other cars in the segment the prices are a lot higher, but you do get a £5,000 government grant, but still, once you weigh up the cost of, say, a high mpg diesel, the costs dont really add up.
UGLY CAR OF THE YEAR - The title says it all.
KIA SOUL - Not as bad as some of teh cars here, but the EV version has extra plastic covering dotted about the car, and thats what makes this car a contender
SSANGYONG TURISMO - Just look at a picture, thats all I will say.
JEEP CHEROKEE - Yes it maybe a massive seller for Jeep, but it is also one of teh ugliest car around at the moment.
MINI PACEMAN - WHO had the idea of taking the ugly Countryman, and turning it into a coupe, I never thought the Countryman could be beaten in the ugly stakes, but yup, BMW did it, and did it with style, this car has been beaten with a massive ugly stick.
BMW X4/X6 - MINI had a huge ugly stick that graced the Paceman, and then they loaned it to Parent BMW who hit the X4/X6, both hideous beyond belief.
BRAND OF THE YEAR - Which brand has improved, given us some class leading, exceptional vehicles this year, or has just shown how great at design or development.
JAGUAR LAND ROVER - A massive imvestment, a free hand, and some stunning products have put JLR in this catagory, and it is not over yet.
MAZDA - Same wth Mazda, they have completely overhauled the range, given the cars a standardised look, which works perfectly, and has boosted sales and profits worldwide.
PEUGEOT - With the youngest full range in it's entire history, some stunning award winning products, better sales and profits returning, the new Peugeot is working, and about time too.
SEAT - SEAT, owned by VW for a long looonnng time, and yet to make a profit, but thats going to happen sooner rather than later, there is some great looking products, the LEON has given SEAT the massive boost it needs, losses are being cut significantly as sales rise, some of the range is aging, but thats all being worked on.
VOLVO - The Swedish brand was once famous building bricks on wheels, with safety, now they build some stunning svelt saloons and estates, the class leading new XC-90 is the start of a new future for the Chinese owned brand, the V40 and XC60 are both jewels in the Volvo crown, it may not be teh biggest, or the best, but with Volvo, you know exactly what your getting, and thats great, reliable, class leading cars.
CONCLUSION
So there you have it, these are the cars and brands in the running for the first annual "The motoring World" awards 2014, yes there are some cars that might have been considered, or brands that might have been better looked at, but these are the ones that we feel deserve to be looked at and considered for either section wins or the ultimate "Car of the Year".
Over the next week, we will ecide on the winners and runners up, and once all the decisions have been made, we will announce the outcome, in the meantime, if you have any comments, or if you feel we should look at any particular car in more detail from our list, then please feel free to ask.
