Our New Car Awards winners prove many great models are now more affordable than ever

Have new cars for real-world drivers ever been better, more versatile, efficient, safe and fit for purpose? Not in my lifetime. As this week’s Auto Express New Car Awards clearly demonstrate, there’s nowt wrong with the current crop of state-of-the-art showroom products.  Follow our unbiased advice, do your homework, be open-minded, factor in discounts and insurance groups plus likely resale values, then draw up your personal list of the very best models in the price category you’re working within. Only then will your contender cars reveal levels of excellence and quality that consumers on limited budgets (that’s most of us) could only dream about in the recent past.  We used to be content with cars that were merely good or, occasionally, very good. Now, some great models are within our financial reach. A car doesn’t necessarily have to be big, quick, expensive and outrageously good-looking to qualify as a modern great. The Renault 5 E-Tech, winner of our Affordable Electric class, proves my point. Think top speed of 93mph, a more than reasonable sub-£24k starting price, plus a design that’s unapologetically understated, not tastelessly tacky. Not by coincidence, its longer, taller, more spacious big bro, the classless sub-£27k Renault 4, is officially commended in the same EV category – in addition to topping the Small SUV league. Advertisement - Article continues below

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