This year has been a busy year for new cars and there has been a whole host of fresh metal that has arrived in showrooms.
We’ve been testing as many new cars as we can, and have put plenty of new models through their paces in 2020.
But what did we rate the highest? These are the cars we awarded a five-star rating in 2020…
Ford Puma – from £22,040
This year kicked off with a bang in the car world as a new compact crossover stormed right to the top of its chart – the Ford Puma.
This all-new model for Ford impressed for many reasons – its efficient mild-hybrid engines (which have since been introduced onto the Fiesta and Focus too), its impressive practicality and also the fact it’s fantastic to drive. For all these reasons it’s truly deserving of a top rating, and being one of our highlights of 2020.
Click here to read the full review.
Enquire on a new Ford PumaAlfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio – from £73,195
Think SUVs can’t be fun to drive? Well, let the Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio prove you wrong. This stunning model is brimming with character and is easily one of the most exciting cars you can buy today. Rather than being just a good performance SUV, it’s a brilliant performance car full stop.
As part of a 2020 update Alfa Romeo also addressed previous criticisms about in-car technology and interior quality – bringing both up to standard to make the Stelvio Quadrifoglio fully deserving of the top rating.
Click here to read the full review.
Enquire on a new Alfa Romeo Stelvio QuadrifoglioHonda Civic Type R – from £34,230
Even before Honda updated its Civic Type R for 2020, it already had one of the best hot hatches around on its hands – offering a truly rewarding driving experience at an affordable price.
But the tweaks Honda made only enhanced the package further, bringing slight mechanical updates to elevate it higher up the rankings, along with making tweaks to the infotainment system for the better. A new ‘Sportline’ model has also joined the range – offering more toned-down styling for those that think the standard car is a bit too brash.
Click here to read the full review.
BMW 5 Series – from £39,270
Continuing with the theme of an already-great car being improved for the better in 2020, we have the latest BMW 5 Series. This executive car remains the car to beat in this segment, with its mix of technology, sportiness and comfort making it the ultimate all-rounder.
BMW has also expanded the powertrain line-up on the new car for the better, with buyers now able to choose from a new six-cylinder plug-in hybrid, along with a new V8 petrol model – the M550i xDrive.
Click here to read the full review.
Enquire on a new BMW 5 SeriesMazda3 Skyactiv-X – from £23,320
Mazda has seriously upped its game in recent years and no other model showcases this better than the firm’s ‘3’ hatchback. The latest generation now offers one of the best interiors in the business, while remaining superb to drive.
Before this year we’d been a bit but underwhelmed by the entry-level engine, but Mazda introduced a new unit known as ‘Skyactiv X’ that brought stronger performance, greater efficiency and impressive smoothness to the model, earning it a top rating.
Click here to read the full review.
Enquire on a new Mazda3Toyota GR Yaris – from £29,995
Arguably our car of 2020, the Toyota GR Yaris has taken the performance car world by storm, and already won a number of awards, despite only arriving in showrooms a couple of months ago.
Based on a different rally-bred platform to the standard hatch, the GR Yaris is the ultimate B-road car, as it’s small, light and punchy and offers a true rally car feel from a road-going model It’s safe to say hot hatches this good don’t come around very often.
Click here to read the full review.
Enquire on a new Toyota GR YarisFord Puma ST – from £28,495
Given how brilliant the standard Ford Puma is, it shouldn’t have come as a huge surprise with how brilliant the sporty ‘ST’ model is. As it’s essentially the same car as a Ford Fiesta ST underneath – one of the best hot hatchbacks around – this Puma couldn’t have better foundations.
And it seriously impressed us, offering the same fun you get with the Fiesta, but with the added bonus of extra practicality and spaciousness – it still retains clever features like Ford’s ‘MegaBox’ underfloor boot storage solution, for example;
Click here to read the full review.
Enquire on a new Ford Puma ST
