Kia EV3 crowned car of the year at Autotrader Driver's Choice Awards 2025
London, 19th June 2025: The Kia EV3 has been crowned Autotrader’s Car of the Year 2025, according to a consumer vote featuring the real-world opinions of more than 225,000 car owners at the ninth annual Autotrader Drivers’ Choice Awards – formerly known as the Auto Trader New Car awards. The huge number of consumer votes not only makes the awards a genuine and accurate reflection of car owner sentiments, but it also marks the largest automotive vote of its kind.
With climate concerns high on the world stage, and in the public’s consciousness, electric vehicles (EV) dominated the awards once again in 2025, with an EV taking the top spot for the sixth consecutive year. This year 10 electric models came out on top across the 25 different award categories. Given the growing popularity of electric, this year marks the third year Autotrader has awarded the Best Home Charger, which was won by Myenergi.
In addition to the Kia EV3 taking this year’s most prestigious award along with Best Mainstream Electric Car, other notable wins include the Best Car for Families category (BMW i4), as well as Best Value New Car (Omoda 5), Best Car for City Drivers (Hyundai IONIQ 5), Most Fun to Drive (Porsche Macan), and the Best Car for Dog Owners (Skoda Enyaq).
Held at a new and bigger location this year - HERE at the Outernet in Central London - the Autotrader Drivers’ Choice Awards are different from other car awards as the majority of winners aren’t decided on by the opinions of motoring journalists or ‘industry insiders’, but by the people whose opinion matters most to automotive brands: car owners. This year, over 225,000 UK car owners completed an online survey sharing exactly what they think of their car, with their thoughts and opinions (obtained from real-world experience) determining the winners of 20 of this year’s 25 award categories.
An electric model was also crowned the winner of the much-coveted Editor’s Choice Erin Baker which is chosen personally by Autotrader’s Editorial Director. Her stand-out new car this year was the Renault 5. Rory Reid, Autotrader’s YouTube Director opted for a head turning and soulful grand tourer packed with a mighty V12 engine. For the Editor’s Choice Rory Reid category, he chose the Ferrari 12Cilindri.
The winners for the Autotrader Drivers’ Choice Awards 2025 are:
“It’s been an exciting time recently for car buyers as many brilliant and unique models including fully electric options have been released or updated by well-known automotive brands. Not only this but new entrants from across the globe have emerged over the last twelve months that have started to capture the attention of consumers and challenge the more established brands. That’s why we wanted to gather the expert opinion of over 225,000 car owners up and down the country to truly understand what makes these cars great both from a driving and ‘real world’ owning experience.
“Whether it’s to take a family of four on a staycation, navigate the busy streets of an urban city or transport four legged friends, our survey was able to reveal the cars that truly led the way across different lifestyle factors. It was fantastic to be able to crown so many deserving winners across 25 competitive categories including the Kia EV3 which picked up the coveted Car of the Year and impressed consumers for its quirky, futuristic and easy to drive vehicle.”
Within the survey, car owners who have bought, driven and lived with their cars were asked to rate them according to a range of lifestyle factors. This methodology ensures that these awards are a true reflection of what UK consumers think of their car and what they want from it. People were asked to rate their cars across 16 different criteria, from reliability and performance to appearance and running costs. They were also asked about their overall satisfaction with their car and how likely they would be to recommend it to others. Independent analysts then used this data to determine the finalists for 20 of the categories – the full list of which can be found below.
Autotrader adds a new sustainability rating to editorial car reviews
As part of its commitment to help consumers make more environmentally friendly vehicle choices, Autotrader has introduced a new and trailblazing sustainability rating to its editorial new car reviews. These ratings will sit alongside ratings for running costs, reliability, safety, features, comfort and power.
Automotive data from one of the world’s most respectable sustainability organisations World Benchmarking Alliance’s Climate and Energy Benchmark will be used to support the methodology behind the ratings. As part of the new ratings, Autotrader also aims to abide by the Government’s Green Claims campaign to ensure any environmental claims are genuinely green.
Erin added: “In a world in which consumers are becoming increasingly sustainability-conscious, our new ratings will help car owners better understand the carbon footprint of these vehicles over the duration of ownership. They’ll also help arm them with unique insights about how sustainable the supply chain is, including raw materials, so they can make an informed decision on their next car purchase with sustainability in mind.”
The first set of green ratings will go live by start of Autumn 2025 on the editorial section of the Autotrader platform here: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/cars/reviews
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