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We’ve been good boys and girls in GRR towers this year, so our list for Father Christmas is, some might say, optimistic. But, operating on the “if you don’t ask, you don’t get” maxim, we’ve made our list, checked it twice, etc etc. Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy new year.
Santas favourite vehicles of 2018 (AKA our best cars of the year)
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Best small SUV of 2018
Can we be greedy and have two? We’re going to go Fiat 500X and Suzuki Jimny. Surprising, we know, but the former is a fun car, with bold colours inside and out and amazing black and grey fabric seats with white piping. Surprisingly large boot, and good storage space. The latter? It’s the return of the Jimny, the car everyone loves! Come on!
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Best medium SUV of 2018
Several on our list, but that stocking’s starting to bulge (we’ll just fill a Christmas garage next year), so we’re going Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio. Alright-ish SUV in standard form becomes dragon-slaying, awesome, Ferrari-derived monster in Quadrifoglio guise. Especially with yellow calipers.
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Best large SUV of 2018
We’ll have a Range Rover plug-in hybrid, please. The interior is sumptuous, and it’s an amazing, truly luxurious experience, to drive a silent Land Rover. If that’s too much for Santa’s helpers to stump up, we’ll happily go VW Touareg instead.
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Best small estate of 2018
One Seat Leon ST Cupra 300 please. It looks totally innocuous from the outside, but it’s mighty rapid and still with room for four adults and boot space for the week’s shop.
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Best large estate of 2018
Got to be the Volvo V90 for the stocking. The king of large estates, it offers a comfortable, quiet and smooth ride, with a gorgeous leather and wood clad interior and huge touchscreen. Great optional dog cage, too, for the huge boot.
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Best hatchback of 2018
A toss-up between the new Mercedes A-class, which looks so much smarter than the outgoing model, or the Mazda3, which has just snuck in at the end of this year with a bold redesign. On balance, we’ll go Merc, but that Mazda looks the business.
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Best hot hatch of 2018
Audi RS3 please, in electric blue. Makes a great noise on start-up, looks fantastic with trademark silver wing mirrors, smart interior, feels more like a hot hatch for sensible millennials than a Golf GTI or Honda Civic Type R.
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Best small electric car of 2018
BMW i3 still wins it, but we can’t wait to see Honda’s effort, with its retro styling, go on sale. Meanwhile, the i3 has a smart, clever interior with a large amount of the materials made from recycled plastic bottles, and a decent range.
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Best medium electric car of 2018
Got to be the Hyundai Kona EV with its near-300 mile range and lower price than many rivals. Get on the waiting list now to avoid frustration – it’s the EV everyone wants.
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Best large electric car of 2018
Jaguar I-Pace please. Looks like a Jaguar, feels like a Jaguar and has proper off-road abilities. Run to a close finish by the brand new Audi e-tron, but that Jaguar verve and style just knocks the Audi off top spot.
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Best sports car of 2018
One Porsche Boxster GTS, please Santa. Sounds the business, and tightens up the more “lifestyle” qualities of the standard Boxster 718 for a sharper drive. We’ll have the red fabric roof, as you’re asking.
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Best GT of 2018
Got to be the new Bentley Continental GT. Never has a redesign worked such wonders: the updated model feels fresh, sharp, dynamic and cool for a younger generation that may have eschewed the brand until now.
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Best supercar of 2018
McLaren 600LT storms it, because it’s the ideal combination of road car and trackday toy, with a great engine but even more phenomenal brakes, which use a booster taken from the Senna.
And finally…
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Best car of 2018
If we could only have one car, Santa, for the whole year, then please, please can you make it an Aston Martin DB4 GT continuation car – a brand new £1.5m classic, built to original 1960s specifications. But we may not have been quite good enough for that, we'll admit.
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