Shortlist: What Car? Car of the Year 2019

Let’s take a look at all the cars in the running for the coveted What Car? Car of the Year title for 2019

9 January 2019

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What Car? has revealed the shortlist of 61 new models in contention for its prestigious 2019 Car of the Year title.

The winner will be announced on Tuesday 22 January at the consumer champion’s annual Car of the Year Awards ceremony, held in association with Warranty Direct and BNP Paribas Cardif. Let’s take a look at all the new cars in contention for the title:
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Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio

This go-faster version of the already potent Alfa Romeo Stelvio is powered by a 503bhp 2.9-litre V6 petrol engine. And the results speak for themselves, with the 0-62mph sprint covered off in just 3.8 seconds and a top speed of 176mph.
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Alpine A110

The A110 is one of the most entertaining and rewarding sports cars you can buy today, with involving handling, a brilliant driving position and rapid performance.
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Aston Martin Vantage

A Porsche 911 is a better all-round sports car, but this Aston Martin has a fantastic engine, engaging handling and jaw-dropping looks.
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Audi A1

The brand new A1 is here to bring the fight to premium small car rivals such as the Mini hatchback and Volkswagen Polo. It offers a smooth ride, remains quiet at high speeds and should hold its value very well.
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Audi A6

The A6 is a quiet and comfortable luxury saloon, despite not being the best car in its class to drive. It offers a range of quiet engines, a spacious interior and excellent build quality.
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Audi A6 Avant

Plush executive estate offers a high-quality interior, lots of space and a decent range of engines.
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Audi A7 Sportback

Mixing the luxury of the Audi A8 with the sleek looks of a coupé, the A7 is beautifully made and very comfortable for crossing huge distances. It's also loaded with equipment and has a strong range of engines.
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Audi Q3

The Q3 is Audi's premium family SUV, and a rival for the BMW X1 and Mercedes GLA among others. It's suitably plush inside, and offers a comfortable ride with a smooth range of petrol and diesel engines.
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Audi Q8

The stylish Q8 is Audi's newest SUV model, and aims to blend the luxury and space of the Q7 with the svelte shape of a coupé. It's quiet and spacious inside, with fantastic build quality.
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Bentley Continental GT

The Bentley Continental GT is a fine grand tourer that gets the balance between sports car and luxury car just about spot on.
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BMW 3 Series

The all-new BMW 3 Series is taking the fight to Audi and Mercedes with an improved interior, a new focus on comfort and the latest generation of BMW's iDrive infotainment.
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BMW 8 Series

BMW's stylish replacement for the 6 Series is striking to behold and brimming with technology, while also offering an engaging drive.
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BMW M5

Despite having enough power to slay a supercar, the M5 is comfortable and no harder to drive than the regular 5 Series. And that's a huge compliment.
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BMW X3 M40i

This is the most powerful version of the X3. It adds to the standard car's considerable appeal by fitting a raucous straight six petrol engine under the bonnet.
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BMW X4

If you like the idea of an SUV with a sleek, coupé-like roofline, then the X4’s svelte lines will probably appeal to you. The X4 also offers great handling, while inside you'll find BMW's iDrive infotainment system, which is among the best in the business.
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BMW X5

The latest version of BMW's X5 is luxurious and classy and has a fine interior – it's just not as practical as key rivals.
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Citroën Berlingo

The Citroën Berlingo offers unrivalled interior space and a relaxing ride. It may not be brilliant to drive, but it’s an astoundingly practical car and good value, too.
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Citroën C5 Aircross

Citroën's largest SUV is certainly stylish, and also offers a frugal range of engines and a smooth ride. It's quiet inside when you're on the motorway, too.
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Cupra Ateca

The first model to come from Seat's newly hived-off Cupra performance brand is based on the Ateca, but adds a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine with 296bhp.
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Dacia Duster

Want a cheap and cheerful SUV? The Duster is your logical first step. Avoid the fairly spartan base models, and you've got a practical and spacious SUV that won't break the bank.
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DS 7 Crossback

The largest SUV model from Citroën's luxury offshoot, DS, is spacious and practical, and comes with a frugal range of engines. Interior quality doesn't match that of most premium rivals, however.
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Ford Fiesta ST

If you've got around £20,000 to spend on a hot hatchback, the Fiesta ST should definitely be on your shortlist. It offers superb handling, a cracking engine and a great driving position.
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Ford Focus

Just replaced, the Focus is a fine car for families. There's room for five, running costs are sensible and it's great fun to drive.
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Ford Focus Estate

The Focus Estate keeps the keen handling that makes the regular Focus so popular, but adds an extra dose of practicality.
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Honda CR-V

The larger of Honda's two SUVs is easy to drive and comes with an efficient 1.6-litre diesel engine. What's more, its interior is well built and offers masses of space for your family and all their luggage.
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Hyundai i30 Fastback

This more stylish version of the i30 family hatchback impresses with top interior quality and a good level of standard equipment. Bland handling lets it down, though.
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Hyundai Kona EV

The Kona Electric finished with an impressive 249 miles from our Real Range tests. It's also reasonably spacious and comes with a generous amount of kit.
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Hyundai Nexo

This electric SUV is powered by hydrogen and has an official range of 497 miles. If you can live with the faff of filling it up, the Nexo is an appealing £60,000 choice.
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Hyundai Santa Fe

Hyundai’s largest SUV offers rugged, go-anywhere ability and a lofty driving position. It also has seven seats, plenty of equipment and a powerful yet economical diesel engine.
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Jaguar I-Pace

The I-Pace is an appealing option, whether you're after an electric car or simply a luxury SUV. It offers big range between charges, futuristic looks and entertaining handling.
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Kia Ceed

The latest Ceed has plenty of space inside, is well built and comes with the reassurance of Kia's seven-year warranty. It's relatively cheap to finance, too.
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Kia e-Niro

This all-electric version of the Kia Niro SUV managed an impressive 253 miles between charges on our Real Range tests. It feels quick on the road and is reasonably spacious inside.
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Kia Proceed

This halfway house between the regular Kia Ceed and Ceed Sportswagon estate aims to offer more space in a svelte shape.
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Lexus ES

Lexus's sleek ES offers a supple and quiet ride and even handles better than some rivals. It's offered with a refined hybrid engine that rewards a frugal driving style.
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Lexus RX L

Take the Lexus RX, add two more seats in the back and a bit more length and, hey presto, you've created the RX L. It's impressively reliable, well-built inside and comes bursting with equipment.
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Lexus UX

An appealing hybrid family SUV with a plush interior and pleasant performance around town.
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McLaren 600LT

The 600LT is a limited-production McLaren that can hit 62mph in an astonishing 2.9 seconds and keep accelerating to a top speed of 204mph. As you might expect, it's absolutely exhilarating.
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Mercedes-AMG 4-door

AMG's first stand-alone four-seat grand tourer has considerable pace and poised handling.
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Mercedes-AMG C43

This is a warmer version of the regular C-Class and is hugely entertaining to drive, while remaining comfortable.
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Mercedes-AMG GLC 63

This 503bhp version of the Mercedes-Benz GLC SUV is certainly potent, and makes a good case for itself despite a high price tag and poor fuel economy.
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Mercedes-Benz A-Class

The A-Class is Mercedes' rival for premium hatchbacks including the Audi A3 and BMW 1 Series. It offers a stunning interior featuring a class-leading infotainment system, and is good to drive.
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Mercedes-Benz CLS

This four-door coupé is enjoyable to drive and is driven by a range of punchy engines. Strong resale values only sweeten the deal.
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Mercedes-Benz G-Class

Despite its rugged exterior looks, the G-Class is every inch the luxurious SUV, with a big boot and a commanding driving position. If you want to go off-road in luxury, it should be on your shortlist.
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Mercedes-Benz GLE

There's plenty to like about Mercedes' large SUV, including its interior space, generous levels of equipment and strong performance. Some of its rivals are better to drive, though.
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Nissan e-NV200 Combi

Electric MPV offers seating for up to seven and has an official range of up to 187 miles. Like most electric cars, it can get you up to speed pleasantly quickly.
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Peugeot 508

The 508 makes plenty of sense as a company car and scores well for safety, but rivals are better to drive and are more practical.
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Peugeot 508 SW

Like the look of the new Peugeot 508 but need more space? This SW version could be right up your street.
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Peugeot Rifter

It might not have the style of some other MPVs, but few rivals can match the Rifter for space and practicality.
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Porsche Cayenne

The Cayenne offers a range of powerful engines, but is also seriously practical for families, with flexible rear seats. The standard kit list is pretty stingy, though.
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Renault Megane Renaultsport

The Megane RS might not be the fastest hot hatchback in the world, but it is great fun to drive and cheaper to buy than most rivals.
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Rolls-Royce Cullinan

Even Rolls-Royce is getting in on the SUV act these days, creating one of the most luxurious cars in the world in the process.
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Seat Tarraco

The Tarraco is Seat's largest SUV, and is essentially the same underneath as the Skoda Kodiaq and Volkswagen Tiguan. Seat is hoping to give its SUV a sportier nature, however.
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Suzuki Swift Sport

The Swift Sport is well equipped and good fun to drive, and offers cheap running costs. A high list price stops it from being ranked among the greatest in this class, though.
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Toyota Proace Verso

Another option if you need to seat nine people, plus the Proace Verso has a large and family-friendly interior.
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Vauxhall Combo Life

Offering more space per car than just about anything else on sale, the Combo Life is a good choice if you have a big family to move.
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Volkswagen Polo GTI

This Polo is a fine and comfortable all-rounder, offering a great driving position and some thrills. Most rivals will put a bigger smile on your face, though.
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Volkswagen T-Cross

Volkswagen's newest SUV is its smallest yet, and is based on the same underpinnings as the Seat Arona. It's set to cost around £17,000 in the UK.
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Volkswagen Touareg

The Touareg is the largest SUV Volkswagen makes, and is very spacious inside for both passengers and luggage. It's also exceptionally good at towing, and is comfortable even at motorway speeds. It doesn't feel as luxurious inside as you'd expect at this price point, though.
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Volkswagen Up GTI

A cracking engine and decent handling makes this Up GTI one of the best hot hatches you can buy – especially if you're on a tight budget.
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Volvo S60

A refined, quick and attractive saloon that could prove a popular alternative to the Germanic options.
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Volvo V60

Volvo's newest estate is luxurious and comfortable inside, and offers plenty of space.

The full results of What Car? Car of the Year 2019 will be issued on the evening of Tuesday 22 January.

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