The Lexus LBX compact crossover has been crowned the best new car money can buy in 2024 – and it’s a relatively affordable winner compared to the previous champion.
With Hollywood’s award season celebrating the best of the big screen, the automotive industry has began passing out gongs in the world of four wheels.
On Thursday evening, the WhatCar? Car of the Year Awards – often considering the UK’s ‘motoring Oscars’ – voted Lexus’s new LBX hybrid compact SUV the finest car to hit showrooms in the last 12 months.
This year’s victor – starting from £29,995 – is almost half the price of last year’s winner as the cost-of-living crisis was a major consideration for the 2024 shortlist.
The Lexus LBX has been crowned WhatCar? Car of the Year at the 2024 awards ceremony. Starting from under £30k, it’s half the price of the previous winner
The all-new compact crossover – designed to appeal to younger, style-conscious drivers – sells itself on giving a ‘premium casual’ look and maximum fuel economy for an attractive price point.
With crossovers all the rage and the SUV market booming, the LBX won a pair of awards at the event, raising the gong for best small SUV as well as the overall winner.
It was a glittering night for Lexus, as the manufacturer also won the reliability award for a record seventh consecutive year.
Lexus’s sister brand Toyota also picked up two awards: family car of the year with the Corolla the Corolla Touring Sports winning best estate.
Each year the What Car? Awards recognises winners across 23 individual categories, naming the best makes and models launched in the past 12 months. The honours date back to 1978, making this the country’s longest-running motoring awards.
The LBX has been designed for, and marketed to, a younger urban crowd that are prioritising style, affordability and value
The luxurious interior, a standard of the Lexus brand, was one of the reason the LBX
WhatCar?’s judges said the LBX deserved the top honour for its ‘efficient hybrid system, luxurious interior and attractive pricing’.
It goes head-to-head against rivals like the Audi Q2 and Ford Puma, though What Car?’s expert panel believes it has the credentials to takes sales away from these mainstream offerings.
‘It hits the nail on the head when it comes to its intended purpose,’ the publication said.
‘It’s the smallest Lexus you can buy, yet it’s plush inside, cheap to run and very well equipped. You also get the promise of stellar reliability and rock-solid build quality.’
The LBX is slightly more expensive than last year’s best small SUV, the Ford Puma, which starts from £25,600.
But the Puma only comes with a 1.0-litre engine and doesn’t have the self-charging hybrid technology the LBX does, which accounts for the slightly higher price point of the LBX.
The Puma was also the best-selling new car of 2023.
Typical of a small SUV, the LBX has great practicality – a five-seater with room for three adults in the back
The LBX also won the Best Small SUV category, and Lexus also took home the gong of most reliable brand of the year for a seventh consecutive year
It marks a departure from the previous two years when the best new car was electric.
Kia won in 2022 with the EV6 and Volkswagen caused a stir in 2023 when the electric campervan ID.Buzz won.
The judging this year reflected the current demand for small but practical SUVs among Britain’s new vehicle buyers.
What Car? editor Steve Huntingford, said: ‘The Car of the Year title is reserved for the model which has moved things on 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 is the first car in the class to combine hybrid efficiency with big-car luxury.’
The need for a cost-efficient daily driver that doesn’t cost the earth to begin with was also a key factor in the decision: ‘At a time when new car prices are going through the roof, it offers these strengths for an attractive price.’
Accepting prized trophy, Chris Hayes, director of Lexus in the UK, said: ‘This honour will be a source of great pride and excitement for everyone who was involved in making the LBX, from the chief engineer to the teams working on the production line.
‘It rewards the huge efforts that have been invested in making a small car that is truly premium in every respect, and authentically a Lexus product.’
LBX receiving this year’s gong also reflects the increasing popularity of SUVs in the UK, which saw six out of 10 of the best-selling cars of 2023 being crossovers or mid-sized SUVs.
The LBX is also much more affordable than last year’s winner, the ID.Buzz.
The LBX entry-level Urban trim starts from £29,995 with the range topping Original Edition coming in at £39,995 while the electric VW is priced from £57,115 to £61,915.
Which other cars picked up awards?
While Lexus was the dominant brand, other manufacturers to win multiple awards included BMW and Kia, who both won three apiece. Renault had a great night too, taking home two gongs.
BMW’s X7 was hailed the best luxury car, the M3 Touring the best performance car and the M4 the best convertible.
Kia’s EV6 winning best family electric SUV and the Sportage best family SUV with an internal combustion engine, shows Kia has the highly competitive SUV market pretty well sewn up. Kia also won the best tow car award.
Tesla had a second consecutive win for the Model 3, which took home gong for the standout executive car – unsurprisingly as its one of the most popular EVs the world over.
And MG put its best foot forward with the MG4 EV SE winning best small electric car – the second year in a row it has taken home this trophy.
Hits and misses: Has What Car? got it right with winners in the past?
After What Car? presented its top honour to an affordable crossover with a starting price of £29,995 – rather than a luxury seven-seater or smart electric car – you might be wondering what’s so special about this SUV.
What Car?’s annual Car of the Year gongs have been handed out since 1978… but has the motoring magazine always got it right?
Hindsight is a wonderful thing, and it means we can look back to the turn of the century to see if former winners lived up to What Car?’s billing:
2000: Skoda Fabia – HIT
When the Fabia supermini hit the market, it was reliable, cheap to run and built to last. The car essentially transformed Skoda’s image, which has helped make it such a success today.
2001: Ford Mondeo – HIT
The first-generation Mondeo was the best-selling family car in Britain at the time but this follow-up blew everything out of the water at the car’s height of popularity.
2002: Toyota Corolla – HIT
The Corolla was comfortable and practical, if not all that exciting. However, it is still to this date one of the most dependable family hatches sold this side of 2000.
2003: Seat Ibiza – HIT
Under the stewardship of the VW Group, the Ibiza hit the market as an excellent package that undercut rivals on price.
2004: VW Golf MK5 – HIT
Some will argue this is the best modern-era Golf of all, with the Mk6 version being something of a disappointment. Bought in droves, this is a surefire hit.
2005: Land Rover Discovery 3 – MISS
A capable off-roader with loads of luxury, but the third-generation Discovery has more reliability issues than you’ve had hot dinners. Owners regularly vote it one of the least reliable motors on the road.
Woeful reliability makes the decision to award the Land Rover Discovery 3 a surefire miss
2006: BMW 3 Series – HIT
This 3 Series is the one that helped change the game in the small executive segment as the premium-branded Beemer outsold more affordable rivals from non-prestige marques.
2007: Vauxhall Corsa – HIT
While this version of the Corsa never quite made it to the top of the sales charts, at the time it was the most spacious and comfortable supermini on the market.
2008: Jaguar XF – MISS
While it might have impressed at launch, the XF was no match for its German rivals – and there was a gulf in sales between it and more accomplished models like the BMW 5 Series.
The XF might have impressed the What Car? panel in 2008, but that didn’t translate in terms of sales, with the BMW 5 Series and Mercedes E-Class trumping it
2009: Ford Fiesta – HIT
This is the Fiesta that started a 12-year run at the top of the sales charts that ended in 2021. Brilliant to drive, affordable and practical; it could do it all.
2010: Peugeot 3008 – MISS
With compact SUVs growing in popularity, the arrival of the Peugeot 3008 took the segment to a new level of refinement and interior style. But less than impressive engines and rapid depreciation makes this choice a miss.
The 3008 was Peugeot’s early answer to quirky crossovers but a poor engine line-up and rapid depreciation makes it one you might have wanted to avoid
2011: Audi A1 – MISS
There’s not much wrong with the Audi A1, but it hasn’t become the sales success Audi would have hoped. Outsold by the Mini and with prices deemed too steep for a supermini, it has never been the volume seller it hoped for.
2012: Volkswagen Up! – HIT
The Up! arrived and offered levels of interior quality, refinement, space and maturity not seen before in the city car class. It continues to go strong today.
2013: Audi A3 Sportback – HIT
Wonderfully refined, a lovely interior and heaps of refinement kept this generation of the A3 at the top of the premium hatchback segment.
2014: Nissan Qashqai – HIT
The second-gen Qashqai was not only a best-seller in the UK, where it’s built, also went on to be Europe’s most popular crossover with three million sold across the Continent and five million sold globally.
2015: Skoda Fabia – HIT
That’s right, the Fabia has won this award twice since 2000. This generation of Fabia was replaced in 2022, but even by today’s standards feels like an exceptionally well-rounded supermini.
2016: Audi A4 – HIT
When this new A4 arrived, it took the junior executive segment to new levels. However, sales never really reflected this. It was out-sold by the Mercedes C-Class that year.
2017: BMW 5 Series – HIT
One of the most accomplished premium executive saloons to hit the market, it might be expensive but for those who could afford it, it failed to disappoint.
2018: Volvo XC40 – HIT
Probably still the best compact SUV on the market today, though it is still rather pricey.
2019: Kia e-Niro – HIT
With a real-world range of more than 250 miles and a price tag that made it more accessible to a broader audience of drivers, the e-Niro was fully deserving of the 2019 award.
2020: Ford Puma – HIT
The Puma was the most-bought small SUV in 2021. Sharp handling, pokey engines and mild-hybrid tech makes this a certified hit.
What Car? gave the Dacia Sandero its top honour in January 2021, then in April 2021 stripped it of the title having seen its two-star Euro NCAP crash test rating
2021: Dacia Sandero (REVOKED) – MISS
What Car? handed its 2021 gong to the Dacia Sandero in January that year. By April, it had stripped the car of the accolade over a poor crash safety rating. Euro NCAP had given the car a two-star rating, which What Car? said: ‘Two stars falls short of What Car? expectations for an award-winning model, due to the need for Car of the Year winners to push boundaries for consumers.’
2022: Kia EV6 – MISS
The EV6 might have impressed with its daring looks but it didn’t break into the top best-selling electric cars of last year.
The VW ID.Buzz was named What Car? Car of the Year 2023, despite prices starting from over £57,000
2023: VW ID.Buzz – MISS
The ID.Buzz might have confused people being a camper rather than a car but it won round some critics with its modern take on retro nostalgia, endless practicality and great resale value. However, many could question the choice of a near-£60k car being crowned best of all during a cost–of-living squeeze.
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