Used Car of the Year Awards: Overall winner

All of our category winners are terrific used buys, so narrowing the list down is always a difficult process. In the end, though, three likely contenders for the title of 2024 Used Car of the Year emerged.

We’ve long been admirers of the previous-generation Skoda Octavia Estate. It excels in all the areas important to buyers of used estates, being highly practical, good to drive and tremendous value for money. The fact that you can buy one of the older models so cheaply is a fantastic result for family buyers on a tight budget.

And how can you ignore the Tesla Model 3? A few years ago, it wouldn’t have seemed possible that you could put one of these rapid and ultra-efficient executive cars on your driveway for as little as £15,000, but such was last year’s realignment of electric car prices that it’s now a very real and tempting proposition.

But in the end, neither of these two (or any of the other category winners) could hold a candle to the Volvo XC40. True, you might pay more for it than you would for an Octavia Estate, but it’s a much more sophisticated car. And even if an electric car fits into your lifestyle, we still think the XC40 edges ahead of the Model 3.

Its SUV bodystyle is more practical, for starters, plus it’s more reliable, more comfortable, better finished and, because you can have it in petrol, diesel, mild hybrid or even fully electric guise, it caters for a wider variety of needs. In short, because it’s a supreme all-rounder and exceptionally good value, the XC40 is our Used Car of the Year.

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