Motoring journalists have come to the conclusion on what the think is the Car of the Year for 2026 after driving hundreds of models from tens of brands
03:30, 21 Nov 2025
A group of car experts have named their Car of the Year
A group of motoring experts from one of the UK’s most prestigious car reviewing websites has decided on their car of the year. After thorough reviewing and testing, motoring journalists from online marketplace and car reviewing site Carwow have selected the Chery Tiggo 8 as their Car of the Year.
The Chery Tiggo 8 is built by Chinese car company Chery, one of a number of Chinese automotive brands to make their presence felt in the UK in recent years. Just like the likes of Jaecoo and Seal, Chery has been warmly welcomed for its value for money and quality for money. This has been reflected in the Chery winning both Carwow’s Car of the year award and their Hybrid Hero award.
Highlighting why the Tiggo 8 had won out, Chief Content Officer at Carwow Mat Watson said: “Chery’s debut to the UK market couldn’t have impressed me more. The Tiggo 8 is one of those cars that seems almost too good to be true.
“It’s a premium-feeling SUV with loads of space for seven occupants, a cutting-edge hybrid system, all the luxury kit you could want… yet it costs about the same as a European hatchback.
“If a Chinese car was ever going to conquer the market, it should be this one. It’s unbeatable value and feels like so much more than a budget family bus.”
Price wise the Chery Tiggo 8 stands up very well to similar-looking and similarly-sized European rivals such as the Audi Q7. According to Carwow, whilst the RRP (Regular Retail Price) of an Audi Q7 is between £70,66 and £99,975, the RRP of a Chery Tiggo 8 is between £28,545 and £36,545.
A Chery Tiggo 8(Image: Getty)
Meanwhile, fellow Chinese brand Jaecoo, who build the popular Range Rover-esque Jaecoo 7, won brand of the year.
On this Mat added: “Jaecoo feels like it’s been selling cars in the UK for no more than five minutes, yet it’s taken the market by storm.
“It’s already nipping at the heels of the best-sellers and the Jaecoo 7 SUV has topped enquiries charts on the Carwow platform this year.
“No wonder; Jaecoo cars look cool, pack loads of standard equipment and yet cost far less than alternatives from European, Japanese or Korean brands.”
The Jaecoo 7 has proved popular in the UK(Image: Getty)
Mat’s comments and Jaecoo and Chery’s awards come as statistics suggest Chinese cars are taking up a greater share of the UK’s market.
Renowned electric car reviewing publication Electrifying.com recently assessed data from the SMMT (Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders) which found that that the likes of BYD, Changan, Chery, GWM, Jaecoo, KGM, Leapmotor, Omoda, Skywell, and Xpeng now have 4.8 percent of the UK market.
An Audi Q7 looks remarkably like a Chery Tiggo(Image: Getty)
Commenting on this, automotive journalist Ginny Buckley suggested some big European names might fall in the next few years.
She wrote: “So, could these new brands sound the death knell for some existing ones? Will we see a Kodak moment in the car industry – a big name vanishing because it couldn’t cut through fast enough as the technology shifted? Put simply, yes.
“My view is simple: not all brands will survive. You’ve only got to look at those currently suffering most. Will we be able to buy a new Seat in 10 years’ time when we’ve all gone electric? I don’t think so. And will all the Stellantis brands still be around? I suspect not.”
