SWEDISH imports have always done us good.
Ulrika Jonsson brightened up our cornflakes in the morning presenting the weather.
The Sun’s Rob Gill with the winners of our 2023 Motor Awards
SuppliedVolvo’s new EX30 is so exceptionally good at everything it does, we have just crowned it The Sun Car of the Year[/caption]
Sven-Goran Eriksson took us to three successive footie quarter-finals.
And who hasn’t grown up listening to a bit of ABBA featuring Benny Andersson?
You could call them our adopted ssons.
Now there’s a fourth Swede here to win our hearts.
Volvo’s new dinky EX30, the sson of the EX90 if you like, is so exceptionally good at everything it does, we have just crowned it The Sun Car of the Year.
Safe, obviously. Stylish. Sustainable. Stress-free.
All of those things. But also incredible value. The electric EX30 costs £31k, massively undercutting similar-sized EVs from mainstream brands.
Go on, my sson.
The Swedes won’t be able to ship them here quick enough. As well as taking the top prize, EX30 was also named Small SUV/Crossover of the Year.
As for The Sun’s Value Car of the Year, that award goes to Dacia for the second successive year.
Last time it was the seven-seat Jogger. This time we’re saluting the Spring electric supermini.
Comically-cheap motoring for the masses, but also fun and easy to skate around your local postcode.
The UK versions will get a fresh new look and more equipment.
Price? A smidge under £18k. Around £7 a day on finance. Brilliant commuter car. Brilliant second car.
The Sun Van of the Year is the Mercedes Citan. Looks the business inside and out and costs £21,310 (excluding VAT) for the entry-level diesel.
That’s just over a grand more than the Renault Kangoo it is based on. But it feels like a proper Merc. Superb delivery van.
Other big winners were the Nissan X-Trail e-POWER, our Family Car of the Year, Mazda’s CX-60 diesel as Large SUV of the Year, MG4 XPower as Best Hot Hatch, BMW’S M2 as Best Sports Car, and the relentlessly brilliant Porsche 911 wins The Sun Legend Award.
The X-Trail is like an XL-sized Qashqai — our 2021 Car of the Year — but with seven seats and 4WD.
Go for the clever e-POWER petrol hybrid and it’s like driving an EV — quiet, smooth and responsive — minus the hassle of having to stop to recharge.
We applaud Mazda for continuing to invest in diesel power. Anyone who tows anything, or travels big miles every week to earn a crust, needs a clean and fuel-efficient diesel.
They need a CX-60.
Mazda’s 3.3-litre six-cylinder diesel engine is a peach. Strong and smooth with buckets of low-down torque. And it’ll do London to Inverness in one go.
You’ll want for nothing in a CX-60.
The weaponised MG4 XPower, with 435hp and 4WD on tap, smokes all your favourite hyper hatches. For much less money. It’s the first electric hot hatch for the next generation of fast car fans.
Then we have the BMW M2. The best Beemer I’ve ever driven. Small, fast, precise, untouchable on a twisty road. Lionel Messi on wheels. It’s that good.
As for our Legend Award, this one was easy. The Porsche 911 has just turned 60 and every model is proper tasty.
Would you go track-ready 911 GT3 RS or dune-bashing 911 Dakar? Lightweight 911 Carrera T or the stunning Sport Classic in our picture? All of them.
Back to the real world and Vauxhall is rewarded with our
Manufacturer of the Year prize. Bosses have played a blinder keeping the new-look Corsa petrol at £19k, and Corsa and Astra — two names we love and trust — will be here for many years yet as EVs. Unlike Ford’s Fiesta and Focus.
On top of that, Vauxhall has been part of the fabric of Britain for 120 years. ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY YEARS.
And it continues to invest in van plants at Ellesmere Port in Cheshire, and Luton.
Happy birthday, Vauxhall.
SuppliedVauxhall won Manufacturer of the Year after playing a blinder by keeping the new-look Corsa petrol at £19k[/caption]
SuppliedMG4 XPower as Best Hot Hatch[/caption]
SuppliedBMW’S M2 is our Best Sports Car[/caption]