Five neat SUVs compete to decide the Cat A SUV category’s champion.
How Does ACOTY Define This Class?
Every Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) that qualifies for this category needs to be sold with a Category A Certificate of Entitlement (Cat A COE). Easy peasy.
Meet The Contenders
Three are German, one is Japanese and one is Italian. We have the Volkswagen Tiguan Mild Hybrid (top left), Volkswagen T-Cross R-Line (top right), BMW X2 sDrive16i (middle left), Lexus LBX (middle right) and Alfa Romeo Tonale.
The Volkswagen Tiguan offers good space and practicality as expected, and brings a more subdued, grown-up look to match.
Being nimble on its feet and with improved tech on the inside, there’s a lot to like about this Cat A SUV.
Its smaller sibling, the Volkswagen T-Cross offers vibrant exterior colours, good driving position and handling, pleasant soft-touch interior and practicality, all in a nice and neat compact package.
Representing Bavaria, the BMW X2 offers a keen and memorable driving experience along with stylish, swooping looks that’s unique in this segment.
There’s much tech on the inside as expected of a BMW, and its frugal engine means travelling further before visiting the pumps.
The Lexus LBX is smooth, quiet and feels suitably premium and upmarket on the inside. Its hybrid powertrain means that it’s frugal to run and its compact dimensions make it a great runabout in town.
This brings us to the sole Italian of the group, the Alfa Romeo Tonale. With excellent handling for a front-wheel drive SUV, striking good looks befitting an Alfa and decent interior space and practicality, it’s no surprise that the Tonale makes the cut for ACOTY 2025.
As you can see, our job wasn’t made easy at all. Decisions, decisions…
AutoApp Car Of The Year Best Cat A SUV
BMW X2 sDrive16i
| Vehicle | Points Tally |
| Volkswagen Tiguan Mild Hybrid | 362 |
| Volkswagen T-Cross R-Line | 374 |
| BMW X2 sDrive16i | 392 |
| Lexus LBX | 383 |
| Alfa Romeo Tonale | 284 |
The winner with 362 points is the BMW X2 sDrive16i. With its oodles of brand cachet and striking looks, it’s no surprise that this is the Cat A SUV to be seen in.
More on the scoring categories used to derive points here.
Congratulations to the BMW X2 sDrive16i for winning the AutoApp Car of the Year 2025 Best Cat A SUV!
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