The Lexus LBX has been crowned What Car? Car of the Year for 2024.
This year’s winner was announced at What Car?’s annual awards, dubbed the UK’s ‘Motoring Oscars’, held at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House in London
The 46th overall winner also took home the Small SUV category award, while Lexus won the Reliability Award for a record seventh consecutive year. Sister brand Toyota won Family Car of the Year (with the Corolla) and Estate Car of the Year (with the Corolla Touring Sports).
Other brands to win multiple awards included BMW and Kia, who took home three apiece, and Renault with two.
What Car? editor Steve Huntingford, said: “The title of What Car? Car of the Year is reserved for the model that has moved things on the 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's the first car in the class to combine hybrid efficiency with big-car luxury. And at a time when new car prices are going through the roof, it offers these strengths for an attractive price.”
What Car? Car of the Year Awards 2024 in association with MotorEasy
OVERALL WINNER
Car of the Year: Lexus LBX
CATEGORY WINNERS
Small Car, sponsored by MotorEasy: Renault Clio 1.0 TCe 90 Techno
Family Car: Toyota Corolla 1.8 Hybrid Icon
Hot Hatch: Mercedes-AMG A45 S Plus
Small SUV, sponsored by Solera Cap HPI: Lexus LBX 1.5 Premium Plus
Family SUV, sponsored by Quotezone: Kia Sportage 1.6 T-GDi 3
Plug-in Hybrid: Mazda MX-30 R-EV Prime-Line
Small Electric Car, sponsored by Myenergi: MG4 EV SE
Executive Car: Tesla Model 3 RWD
Estate Car: Toyota Corolla Touring Sports 1.8 Hybrid Icon
Seven-seater: Land Rover Defender 110 D300 X-Dynamic S
Luxury Car: BMW X7 40d M Sport (Ultimate Pack)
Small Electric SUV, sponsored by Blackhorse Finance: Smart #1 Premium
Family Electric SUV, sponsored by Blackhorse Finance: Kia EV6
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It's certainly moved the price of a city car on that's for sure.
WhatCar? said the mid range spec offered reasonable value. That car is £35k, It's a non-plug-in ICE city-car with a battery only range of only a few miles. We have a Yaris Cross which it's based on and if I'm honest, the price I paid for that was madness. The Lexus betters the Yaris Cross in many areas but not everywhere. The load area of the Lexus is so cheap it's untrue.There's no split level floor nor the Toyota's 40-20-40 rear seat arrangement. In what way has this has moved the game on? It must be the most expensive city car on sale here in the UK.
Hust to show how stupid the what WhatCar? assessment is, they wrote that the LBX offers good value because even in it's most expensive form, it's cheaper than the starting price of a Range Rover Evoque. How can anyone in their right mind compare an LBX to a Range Rover Evoque? It's a completely different market altogether. Talk about comparing apples to oranges. Are they expecting queues of potential Evoque customers outside Lexus showrooms for an LBX?
It'll be like every other Lexus in the UK, it won't sell. In what way is it a game changer? It's a posh Yaris Cross, that's all. If you prefer Alcantara to leather ( leather in a small city car? ) it'll cost you £40k for heavens sake.
What planet do motor journalists live on when they can describe an LBX as good value? I think Autocar got it right. 3.5 stars at most.
If the Renault 5 doesn't win next years award d Inwill be shocked.
Really, re shelled Yaris cross 30k Lexus wins. There's no way this would have won if it been rebadged as anyhing other than a Lexus.
All these rehashed Toyotas will do is weaken the Lexus brand.