29 November 2023
ACOTY 2024 – Overall Best Cat A Vehicle

Seven winners from Round 1 face off for the title of Overall Best Cat A Vehicle.


How Does ACOTY Define This Class?

Seven winners from Round 1 are sold with Category A COEs (Cat A COE). The Overall Best Cat A Vehicle is decided from amongst these seven.

In this round, we see all manners of body styles with internal combustion engine (ICE), hybrid and electric vehicle guises going up against one another.

Meet The Contenders

BMW 216i Active Tourer

The BMW 216i Active Tourer beat out the Volkswagen Golf Life, Honda Jazz Crosstar, Škoda Scala 1.0 and Suzuki Swift Mild Hybrid to win Best Cat A Hatchback. This practical and well-appointed Bimmer has tons of brand cachet, and lets one put their success on display. The points it garnered pointed to unanimity among the judging panel.

BYD Atto 3

The BYD Atto 3 beat the Peugeot e-2008, Kia Niro Electric and Mazda MX-30 to be crowned Best Cat A SUV EV. The judging panel was impressed with its efficiency and how it felt like the complete package as an SUV EV.

BYD Dolphin

The BYD Dolphin fought against the Hyundai IONIQ 5, Citroën e-C4 and Ora Good Cat and won Best Cat A Hatchback EV. We felt that the Dolphin offered the most complete value proposition in its class and that the polished tech implementation made it that much more desirable.

BMW X1 sDrive16i

The BMW X1 sDrive16i went up against the Citroën C5 Aircross, Opel Mokka and Opel Grandland, and won Best Cat A SUV. Oodles of brand cachet and feeling like the most complete package won this Bimmer the accolade, despite being the most expensive in its class.

Kia Niro Hybrid

The Kia Niro Hybrid went up against the Hyundai Kona Hybrid and the Toyota Yaris Cross Hybrid and took home the title of Best Cat A Hybrid / Plug-in Hybrid. Its decisive victory came about because it felt like the most complete value proposition of the trio.

Peugeot 408

The Peugeot 408 fought hard against the Škoda Octavia 1.0 eTec and Audi A3 Sedan and clinched the title of Best Cat A Sedan. The controversy it ignited is what won its top spot, because if one wants to really stand out with their choice of car, then this is it!

Toyota Sienta Hybrid

Finally, the Toyota Sienta Hybrid went up against the Honda Freed and claimed the title of Best Cat A MPV. It felt like more car for the money, and coupled with its excellent fuel economy, decisively won this category’s crown.

So who won?

Seven excellent award-winning choices here, and suffice to say you won’t go wrong with any of them. However, we in the judging panel had a job to do, and that was to choose an overall winner.

Where the points tally in Round 1 was the final determinant of each category’s winner, here in Round 2, points are taken into consideration but are not the final arbiter of victory.

AutoApp Car Of The Year Overall Best Cat A Vehicle
BMW X1 sDrive16i

VehiclePoints TallyPrice Percentile
BMW X1 sDrive16i35945
BMW 216i Active Tourer36142
BYD Dolphin36011
BYD Atto 335224
Peugeot 40834631
Toyota Sienta Hybrid35525
Kia Niro Hybrid32317

And our overall winner is the BMW X1 sDrive16i! The BMW X1 won because it represents a more attractive option to more people than its 216i Active Tourer counterpart. Despite it being the most expensive of the line-up, its brand cachet makes it super desirable in this segment, and the SUV body style has looks going for it.

Desirability is a strong factor that we acknowledge too, and we are confident most will be more than happy to own it.

More on the scoring categories used to derive points in Round 1 here.

Congratulations to the BMW X1 sDrive16i for winning the AutoApp Car of the Year 2024 Overall Best Cat A Vehicle!


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