BMW’s M2 drives off as wheels’ Car of the Year

Dubai: BMW’s M2 took away the bragging rights as the Wheels magazine’s “Car of the Year”, trading on being a performance car that did not subscribe to any of the credentials such models are meant to have.

The M2 won because “It has just the right amount of performance so you can enjoy in the real world without dying or being thrown in prison for 3,000 years. It doesn’t claim supercar-shaming stats and yet it is, without a doubt, one of the most joyous and fulfilling cars we have driven all year.”

With it being the Car of the Year, the M2 did not have to stave off much competition to win in the best coupe hustings.

“These days globally fewer young people are choosing to drive. Traffic snarls, environmental concerns and autonomous motoring have ensured that,” the wheels editorial notes in its review of the model. “The M2 is the antidote — it makes driving great again.”

There were multiple winners on Wednesday evening when wheels revealed an extended list of winners.

The McLaren 540C was a runaway winner in the “Sportscar of the Year” category, while Lamborghini’s Huracan Spyder was the Supercar. In all there were 18 winners, including for the Toyota Fortuner, named as the “Readers’ Choice” and a 1967 Mustang for “My wheels of the year”, a first-time award category.

Choosing the list of winners were guest judges, who included a former rally driver, a former F1 medical delegate and a supercar vlogger.

There were no surprises in the “Luxury SUV of the Year”, Bentley’s Bentayga easily picking the laurels. The best convertible was the Porsche 718 Boxster, and a Ferrari GTC4 Lusso the GT to beat.

In a year when competition was at its peak, Audi’s S8 Plus was the luxury saloon that took on all comers, while staying with luxury, Jaguar’s F-Pace won among crossovers. The performance range within the Nissan Patrol line-up, the Nismo nameplate was the SUV of the year. And the Ford Edge took away the “Crossover of the Year” mantle.

The best in class among executive saloons was the Mercedes-Benz E-Class, and the same status in the family saloon vertical went to Kia Cadenza.

Another model that needn’t have faced much competition was the Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport as the hottest hatch. The “Sports Saloon of the Year” title went to Porsche Panamera Turbo and the “City Car” was driven away by the Chevrolet Spark.

Here’s a full run down of who won what last night

1- City car of the year
Chevrolet Spark

2- Hot hatch of the year
Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport

3- Family saloon of the year
Kia Cadenza

4- Executive saloon of the year
Mercedes-Benz E-Class

5- Sports saloon of the year
Porsche Panamera Turbo

6- Luxury saloon of the year
Audi S8 Plus

7- Crossover of the year
Ford Edge

8- Luxury crossover of the year
Jaguar F-Pace

9- SUV of the year
Nissan Patrol Nismo

10- Luxury SUV of the year
Bentley Bentayga

11- Coupé of the year
BMW M2

12- Convertible of the year
Porsche 718 Boxster

13- GT of the year
Ferrari GTC4 Lusso

14- Sportscar of the year
McLaren 540C

15- Supercar of the year
Lamborghini Huracan Spyder

16- Readers’ Choice
Toyota Fortuner

17- My wheels of the year
Mukesh’s 1967 Mustang

18- Car of the year
BMW M2