Mat Watson: These are the best cars I’ve reviewed in 2025
December 22, 2025 by Mat Watson
Car changing is a big deal
I drive loads of cars each year but most of them are pretty forgettable. These are the ones I’ve awarded a coveted ‘Buy It’ verdict
With more than two decades of experience as an automotive journalist, it’s fair to say that I’ve driven a few cars. So I know what makes something worth buying – and you’ll have seen me putting the latest motors through their paces on the Carwow YouTube channel.
After every review, I give the car in question one of four verdicts. ‘Avoid’ is a car that you just shouldn’t buy, ‘Consider’ means that it has a few serious downsides but it might work for your specific situation. The ‘Shortlist’ cars are generally very good cars that you should definitely test-drive if you’re in the market for that type of vehicle. But the coveted ‘Buy’ verdict means that a car is the best of the best – and that’s not a verdict I give very often.
In fact, just seven ‘normal’ cars had this honour in 2025. About 80 people are knighted by the King each year, so I think you can tell which is more exclusive and important!
These are the cars I’ve given ‘Buy’ verdicts to in 2025, along with the reasons they should be on your shopping list. And read to the end for a few others I reckon you should have a look at – assuming you got a winning lottery ticket in your Christmas stocking, that is.
Remember, you can buy a brand new or used car right here on Carwow – especially if it’s one of the models below! And you can sell your car, too. We’re here to help you through every step of your car-changing journey.
The 7 best cars I’ve reviewed in 2025
1. Chery Tiggo 8
The Chery Tiggo 8 is a seven-seat SUV with a choice of petrol or plug-in hybrid power and a bargain price tag – but to leave it there would be doing it a disservice. What it actually is, is a pretty handsome large SUV with a fantastically family-friendly interior, a dashboard that feels easily as premium as the European alternatives, a genuinely excellent plug-in hybrid engine, and a price tag that undercuts the closest alternatives by more than £10,000.
No wonder I couldn’t help but award this car a ‘Buy’ verdict – in fact, I was so impressed that together with my team I named it Carwow’s Car of the Year for 2026. It’s a seriously impressive debut for Chery, and feels like a cut above the usual Chinese SUVs. Seriously, if you’re in the market for a family car, go and test-drive one – as long as you avoid the standard petrol engine and don’t expect sports-car handling, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
2. Renault 5
French companies have a long history of making the very best small cars, and if the new Renault 5 is anything to go by, they certainly haven’t lost their spark. With super-cool retro styling inspired by the old R5, it’s bang up-to-date under the skin thanks to its electric powertrain and modern interior.
There’s loads I like about the 5 – it’s really good fun to drive, the 250+ mile range is plenty for a small car, and the Google-powered infotainment system is one of the best around. It’s so good around town that it won the ‘Urban Living’ category in the 2026 Carwow Car of the Year Awards. No, it won’t do you too well as a family car, but if there’s only one or two of you, then I definitely reckon you should ‘Buy’ this small EV.
3. Citroen C5 Aircross
The old C5 Aircross had loads to like from its spacious interior to its superbly comfy suspension, and all with a bargain price tag. Well, Citroen’s given us more of all of that with the new model, but has added an all-electric e-C5 Aircross to the mix, so there’s even more choice than before. It’s so good that it took the ‘Family Values’ category in the 2026 Carwow Car of the Year awards.
Both the C5 and the e-C5 come in at less than £30,000 with Carwow discounts but they don’t feel that cheap – the interior looks posh, the hybrid engines are really efficient and soon there’ll be a super long-range electric version that can do over 400 miles on a single charge. It makes you wonder why you’d spend more money on anything else.
4. Mercedes CLA EV
This car won ‘Outstanding EV’ in the 2026 Carwow Car of the Year awards because it pushes EV tech on just that bit further. Thanks to impressive gains in efficiency, it has a massive range of 484 miles to a charge in official tests (still over 400 miles in the real world) but does so with a sensibly-sized battery.
It’s also good to drive, eye-catching, and has a posh interior absolutely crammed with technology such as wall-to-wall screens on the cliff-face dashboard. I reckon the new CLA Shooting Brake looks even better than this saloon, but whichever one you go for, you’re getting the very best tech available in a small EV right now.
5. Fiat Grande Panda
The Renault 5 (above) looks really cool but the Fiat Grande Panda might be even cooler – I love its square dimensions and all the neat styling details, like the pixellated headlights, PANDA stamped into the doors or the bamboo trim on the dashboard. You’d never think it shared the same humble underpinnings as the much more staid-looking Citroen C3 or Vauxhall Frontera.
There’s an electric version with 199 miles of range, perfect for short hops round town, but there’s also a hybrid and soon there’ll be a super-cheap petrol with a manual gearbox. It’s a really versatile small car with a practical boot and a bargain price tag – definitely a ‘Buy’ verdict.
6. Skoda Elroq
Some cars get a ‘Buy’ because I fall in love with them, others get one because once you’ve stacked up all the features versus the price tag, they just make complete sense. The Skoda Elroq is definitely the latter. It won’t excite you, but I can’t think of many better options if you want a small, practical, electric family car.
The best part of the Elroq – like with so many other Skodas – is the number of clever features they’ve crammed in. Things like the net on the underside of the parcel shelf for storing your charging cable – it’s so simple that you wonder why nobody’s come up with it before. I also like the interior quality, even if the lack of buttons is a bit awkward.
7. BMW M2
BMW didn’t really change much with the M2’s mid-life facelift, but it didn’t need changing – it was already one of the best small sports cars around, and that’s mostly because it doesn’t complicate things too much. You get a 3.0-litre straight-six engine at the front, a compact coupe body in the middle, and rear-wheel drive at the back.
I gave it ‘Highly Commended’ in the 2026 Carwow Car of the Year Awards in the Pleasure of Driving category, and that’s because all those ingredients combine to make a car that’s amazing fun to drive – it’s comfortable enough to use everyday, but feels special when you get onto a good road or even a race track.
The best supercars I’ve driven this year
The cars above are all fantastic, but what if you’ve got a few more quid to splash about? Here are some of the most special and exciting cars I’ve driven in 2025…
1. Porsche 911 Turbo S
I’ve liked pretty much every version of the Porsche 911, but the latest Turbo S really is something special. With 711hp, it’s the most powerful roadgoing 911 Porsche’s ever made, and that’s thanks to the clever hybrid system mated to the 3.6-litre turbocharged flat-six engine.
You might think that adding hybrid gubbins spoils the purity of the 911, but actually as well as the extra power it makes it more responsive to the throttle. And with four-wheel drive, a lower centre of gravity and active suspension, it’s just as thrilling in the corners as it is on the straights. This is a proper everyday supercar.
2. Bugatti Mistral
Bugatti’s cars are definitely forbidden fruit – most people won’t even get to sit in one, let alone own one. It felt pretty special being able to review the Mistral, even if I had to do it on a rainy day in the UK rather than a glorious summer’s evening in the South of France…
The Mistral is particularly special as it’s the last car that’ll use Bugatti’s incredible quad-turbo W16 engine. It’s also the fastest convertible car you can buy, and the craftsmanship is second to none. Sure, it’s also over £4 million (and it was sold out before Bugatti even revealed it to the public), but it’s so special that we gave it the Desirability Award for 2026.
3. Koenigsegg CC850
This may be the greatest hypercar in the world right now. No, really! The Koenigsegg CC850 combines drop-dead gorgeous styling (a homage to the original Koenigsegg CC8S from the early noughties) with a cutting-edge carbonfibre chassis and an incredible 1,000+hp V8 engine.
The best thing is the way it’s built – absolutely everything is machined in-house at Koenigsegg, making this feel like a boutique designer handbag as much as it does a car. You even get an absolutely bonkers gearbox that’s simultaneously a nine-speed automatic and a six-speed manual. Don’t ask me how it works – I just want one. The CC850 was conceived as a 50th birthday present for company founder Christian von Koenigsegg, and all I can say is he’s one lucky guy!
Car change? Carwow!
Looking for a new set of wheels? With Carwow you can sell your car quickly and for a fair price – as well as find great offers on your next one. Whether you’re looking to buy a car brand new, are after something used or you want to explore car leasing options, Carwow is your one stop shop for new car deals.
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