Wow, what a year it’s been for both the automotive industry and your team at Tarmac Life, and it’s fair to say that although it’s been a wild ride, we’re all looking forward to the break. That said, we still have one major thing to take care of, and that’s our Tarmac Life Car of the Year 2024.
As you avid followers will know, we break (or is that brake) our awards into five separate categories, and one overall winner from those categories. This year was as tough as they come to choose winners. We have tested some amazing vehicles throughout 2024 and been on some outstanding adventures, but unlike my son’s school (where everyone’s a winner) we have whittled them all down and found our faves.
Here goes:
Tarmac Life – Small Lifestyle Car of the Year
They say that good things come in small packages, and when it comes to small cars, our winner this year is more than good, it’s GREAT. It’s a small SUV with a very large personality, it can be ‘driven like you stole it’, or will happily take on the school run (if your children like to get there early). Our pick this year is the Ford Puma ST, seriously fun with a practical bent.
Winner: Ford Puma ST
Review: Ford Puma ST
Tarmac Life – Medium Lifestyle Car of the Year
The medium car of the year category is such a unique and distinguished award. It’s the goldilocks title, the not too big or too small ‘just right’ vehicle of our automotive landscape. This year, we opted for a new flagship model from a very well-established brand. Not only is it all-electric, but it offers luxury and poise that would not go amiss in a model twice its price. This year, Nissan is the standout, with their Ariya.
Review: Nissan Ariya
Tarmac Life – Large Lifestyle Car of the Year
This category is for those that either have to, or want to live life large. It’s for big family’s, big goals and maybe even big egos. These vehicles don’t just park in a slot, they own that slot. This year, we have gone for a model from classic racing brand that has successfully ventured into an all-new direction, forgoing power to weight ratios in favour of luxury and sustainability – but still retaining joyful performance (just now the whole family can join in). We’re talking about Lotus and in this case, the Eletre S.
Winner: Lotus Eletre S
Review: Lotus Eletre S
Tarmac Life – Most Sustainable Car of the Year
This award is for the vehicle and brand that goes the extra mile in terms of sustainability, by this we mean that it’s all well and good to add a bit of recycled plastic to the dashboard, but what about the entire circle of life from the brand’s perspective too.
As with all our categories, this one was another hard to pick winner, however, for the second year in a row, Volvo came out on top, only this time with their EX30.
Winner: Volvo EX30
Review: Volvo EX30
Tarmac Life – Most Thrilling Car of the Year
We all want a little thrill in our lives, something that makes the heart beat a little faster, whether a thrill to look at, a thrill to talk about or a thrill to drive. This year, our winner achieved all of the above. It’s easy to spot on the road, was endlessly spoken about, and to drive it, was to love it. Of course we’re talking about the Hyundai IONIQ 5N.
Winner: Hyundai IONIQ 5N
Review: Hyundai IONIQ 5N
Tarmac Life – Overall Car of the Year
Picking an overall winner from our category winners was tough, really tough. Should we have gone for a $200,000+ hyper SUV or a ‘planet saving’ EV. Maybe an EV that thinks it’s fossil-fueled or an SUV that flies the flag on a brand’s new direction? In the end we opted for none of those and picked a vehicle that’s fun to drive and is priced to smile too. Yes, our overall winner this year is the Ford Puma ST.
Winner: Ford Puma ST
