From EVs to utes, the best cars of 2024 revealed
After a two-year hiatus, New Zealand’s premier newcar awards extravaganza is back. Welcome to Top Cars hosted by Stuff and produced in partnership with Vermeulen Officer Media (VOM).
This year’s anticipated Top Cars return follows months of planning and vehicle testing, with the best of the best from the previous calendar year put through their paces by judges Matthew Hansen (Stuff
editor of motoring), Nile Bijoux (Stuff
motoring reporter) and Cameron Officer (VOM co-founder, founding editor of Top Gear New Zealand magazine).
This year’s awards span six categories, with a seventh category judged by Stuff’s
passionate readership – the Top Cars People’s Choice Award – to be added soon to the mix. By the first week of May, we will have crowned not only our category winners, but also our overall Top Cars champion.
More than 80 cars were tested in preparation for the awards, ranging from practical family wagons, to cutting-edge EVs, to mid-engined supercars. This list of 18 finalists represents the best new metal on the market.
Meet your Stuff Top Cars finalists for 2024. Top Small Car
The Cupra Born is the smallest and most charming of Volkswagen’s MEB-based pure electric products to hit the market last year, bringing a proper fun factor to the performance EV space in a sharply designed package.
It may have launched only in September but that didn’t stop the MG4 from fast becoming not only one of New Zealand’s most popular EVs but also one of the country’s most popular hatchbacks, period. Sublime pricing and a broad line-up that extends from sensible base model to outrageous dual-motor hot hatch mean there’s something for everyone.
Last year saw the welcome return of an old friend, in the form of the Opel Astra. Comfortably one of the most sharply designed hatchbacks on the market and packing a characterful petrol or frugal plugin hybrid, it’s no wonder the Astra has raked in so many awards in Europe. Top Family SUV (under $60,000)
Three hybrids are set to battle for affordable family SUV supremacy. The biggest contender – dimensionally, that is – is the all-new Honda CR-V. Using the bones of the fabulous Civic, Honda has created a superb all-rounder with oodles of practicality, seven seats and interior quality that defies its price tag.
If an SUV can lay claim to being the most versatile on the market, it could well be the
Kia Niro. Heavily updated last year with eye-catching sci-fi styling, the Niro brings the electrified HEV, PHEV, BEV powertrain trinity to the table. It’s the HEV variant that is represented here, a cracking hybrid option for those wanting to stand out from the pack.
When it comes to value, few models can rival the most affordable Stuff Top Cars finalist for 2024 — the Suzuki S-Cross
Hybrid. The plucky $42,990 S-Cross ranks as one of the most affordable hybrid SUVs on the market, and represents a true tonic for those wanting a more approachable take on electrification. Top Family SUV (over $60,000)
First you have the Ford Mustang Mach-E.
Yes, it’s a Mustang that’s also an SUV with an electric powertrain. To the Mach-E’s biggest traditionalist critics, we implore you just to take one for a spin on a twisty road. Ford has created one of the most playful EV platforms on the market, a feat we think is worthy of that pony badge.
Also electric but with a much, much bigger footprint is the latest utter Goliath from Korea, the Kia EV9. Larger than life (and frankly almost every other SUV money can buy), the EV9 is also a technology powerhouse, setting the tone for Kia’s next generation of plug-in vehicles.
Last but not least is one of the most anticipated mid-sizers from Japan, the
Mazda CX-60. Built on an all-new platform the hybrid and plug-in hybrid CX-60 heralds a new, more premium, era for the popular marque. Its interior is among the most intricate and impressive you’ll find for a sub six-figure price. Top Luxury Car
For the price of six-and-a-half Suzuki S-Cross Hybrids, you could get a BMW i7.
The sumptuous super sedan is now a solely electric affair in New Zealand, with striking looks and one of the most outrageous interiors BMW’s ever created.
Perhaps one of the biggest surprises of the year is that Lotus, a brand in days gone by not traditionally synonymous with build quality, cranked out one of the most incredible luxury cars of the year. The Lotus
Eletre was always going to be fast and fun but the standard of execution inside had our jaws on the floor.
The Maserati Grecale, combined with its MC20 supercar stablemate, represents the decorated Italian manufacturer’s welcome return to form. Far more convincing than previous SUVs from the brand, the Grecale emerges as a truly compelling rival for its Porsche and Range Rover competition. Top Light Commercial
The most popular ute in New Zealand also happens to be one of the best. The Ford
Ranger has been utterly overhauled, with the blue oval’s rigorous global testing effort resulting in the prior double-cab benchmark reaffirming its spot at the head of the pack.
They say ‘if you can’t beat them, join them’. Perhaps that was on Volkswagen Group’s mind when it elected to base its allnew Volkswagen Amarok on the Ranger platform. Its take on the Ranger feels much more bespoke than you would expect, making it a very tempting option.
The Volkswagen Multivan also earns a spot in the show. The Multivan and its predecessors have always been refinement leaders in the van space, with Veedub always judicious in ensuring that its commercials echo the same traits as its passenger cars. Top Driver’s Car
Whenever BMW releases a new M car, the motoring world sits up and takes notice. Enter the BMW M2, the brand’s final pure internal combustion engine M car. Boldly styled, brilliantly quick and endlessly cheeky when twirled around a corner with gusto, this is an M car for the ages.
The best hot hatch on the market is now even better. The FL5-generation Civic Type R Honda
is a clinical, near faultless performance car. A spectacular manual, honed chassis and a properly punchy 2.0-litre makes this the biggest four-wheeled riot under $100,000.
The Lotus Emira is the British marque’s final internal combustion engine performance car. But, what a way to say goodbye. The Emira is a spellbinding and raw drive that becomes very addictive, very quickly.