Our second annual First Car Awards, in association with Warranty Direct, and from the prosecco flowing to the buzz around the room, it’s safe to say it was a successful evening for all in attendance! This year was much bigger than last year, with a whopping 17 awards up for grabs! So, without further ado, the Winners are…

First up we had ‘Marketing Campaign of the Year’, the winner is Marmalade, with their #FreedomTastesSweet campaign, introducing young drivers to their brand at the start of their driving journey!

For ‘App of the Year’, Driving Theory Test 2019 took home the prize for their theory test app! Their app has everything a learner could need, with 9/10 pupils passing their theory after using the app!

Next up was ‘Safety Technology of the Year’, sponsored by ingenie, and the winner is ConnectedCam Citroën, designed to record all of your best driving moments, and improve safety for drivers!

Our fourth award was for ‘Road Safety Initiative of the Year’, sponsored by tso, and the winner is Kent City Councils ‘Speak Out’ initiative. This scheme encourages friends to talk about their friendships and trust, giving them the confidence to ‘Speak Out’ if they feel unsafe in a car!

‘Product of the Year’ was won by TyrePal Solar Tyre Pressure Monitoring System for ensuring tyres are correctly inflated, and alerting the driver if the pressure or temperature is giving cause for concern!

The sixth award was for ‘Finance Product of the Year’, and Marmalade came out on top giving them their second appearance in our list! Their ‘Fuel and Go’ scheme combines finance with insurance to make new cars more affordable!

Next was ‘Retailer of the Year’, sponsored by Warranty Direct, and Arnold Clarke came out on top, for supporting new drivers and their families through its innovative dual-control car hire scheme. They also offer learner driver insurance!

And now on to the car awards!

First up for the cars was ‘Green Car of the Year’ and it was the Renault Zoe that is our green car of the year! The Renault Zoe combines being a greener model with being surprisingly affordable!

And the award for the ‘Safe Car of the Year’ went to the Volkswagen Polo! This car is the highest scoring supermini the Euro NCAP have ever tested, so a well deserved win for them!

The award for the ‘Most Wanted First Car of the Year’, sponsored by Driving Test Success, it was none other than the Audi A1 Sportback! It’s an excellent drive, and stunning exterior!

First up in a series of awards all sponsored by Warranty Direct, was the ‘Used Car of the Year: up to £2,000’ and it was the Ford Fiesta (02-08) taking home this award, this car makes for a safe and reliable first time car!

Next was the ‘Used Car: Up to £5,000’ with Kia Picanto (11-17) being crowned the winner! This car is fresh and modern, but still reasonably cheap to buy!

And for those able to splash a bit more cash, our ‘Used Car: Up to £10,000’ is the Hyundai i20 for it’s safety standards, and being easy and practical to drive! The Hyundai i20 was also given the award for the Overall winner in the Used Car section!

The final section is for new cars, also sponsored by Warranty Direct, and first up is ‘City Car of the Year’ and Volkswagen Up! came out on top in this category, for being able to have autonomous emergency braking specified in every Volkswagen Up!

Our penultimate award was for the ‘Supermini of the Year’ with Nissan Micra taking home this award, as well as the overall winner for ‘New Car of the Year’. We’re impressed with the Nissan Micra because of its striking looks, rock-bottom running costs, and reassuring safety standards.

Congratulations to all of winners, and those shortlisted! For more information, please visit the First Car Awards page here.