Kia Sportage is the 2024 Carbuyer Used Car of the Year

The Kia Sportage has taken the grand prize in Carbuyer’s Best Used Car Awards, as we name it 2024 Carbuyer Used Car of the Year. The talented SUV also drove away with top spot as the Best Used Family Car at this year’s awards.

Taking over from last year’s winner, the Vauxhall Corsa, the Korean SUV had all the factors we look for in a great used car, being practical and well-equipped, but most importantly representing great value. It was Kia’s impressive seven-year warranty that sealed it for the Sportage.

Carbuyer Best Car Awards 2024 - the winners

“Buying used often means a compromise when it comes to reliability or dependability”, explained the Carbuyer judges. “However, Kia’s industry-leading seven-year warranty means you can buy a car that is two or three years old and still have the fallback of the manufacturer guarantee. And yet even without this, the Sportage’s excellent practicality, strong kit count and agreeable driving dynamics make it a fantastic family car, and a no-brainer for Carbuyer’s overall Used Car of the Year for 2024.”

Those same qualities also made the Sportage an easy pick as our Best Used Family Car. It shows that you don’t necessarily need the budget for a brand new car to put a useful, frugal, and well-equipped car on the driveway, and can still fall back on the reassurance of a solid factory warranty even if you don’t buy new.

The Sportage’s strong performance was backed up by the Kia Sorento, a former Carbuyer Car of the Year winning the prize as Best Used Large Family Car, while the all-electric Kia e-Niro was our Best Used Family Electric Car. The judges praised Kia for embracing the electric car revolution more than many other brands, as well as the e-Niro’s class-leading efficiency.

Last year’s Used Car of the Year, the Vauxhall Corsa, still took victory as the Best Used Small Car for 2024, the best-selling model’s strong sales meaning buyers get plenty of choice on the used market.

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Other strong finishers included the Dacia Duster as Best Used Small Family Car, the Skoda Superb Estate as Best Used Estate Car, and the Toyota Hilux as Best Used Pickup.

Sporty cars weren’t left out either, with wins for the Audi TT as Best Used Sports Car (after two victorious years for the Mazda MX-5), the MINI Convertible as Best Used Convertible Car, the Volkswagen Golf GTI as Best Used Hot Hatchback. Rounding out with the Cupra Ateca as the Best Used Hot SUV shows enthusiasts still have a lot to celebrate, even on the used market.

Meanwhile, there were several more electrified winners too, with the Citroen e-C4 and Jaguar I-Pace taking the Small and Large Electric Car categories, and the Honda Jazz and Mercedes E-Class as the Best Used Hybrid and Best Used Plug-In Hybrid.