How Does ACOTY Define This Class?

Hatchbacks are defined as having a fifth door with a relatively vertical rear windscreen to access the boot. Plus, all hatchbacks that qualify for this category need to be sold with a Category A Certificate of Entitlement (Cat A COE). Simple.

Meet The Contenders

Both contestants hail from the Land of the Rising Sun, and they are the Suzuki Swift Mild Hybrid (left) and the Nissan Note e-Power (right).

Suzuki Swift Mild Hybrid

As always, the Suzuki Swift is a hatchback loved by many enthusiasts. It’s affordable, nimble, frugal and quite practical.

As an easy and fun-to-drive car that relishes corners and bends, the Swift definitely deserves a place here as a contender.

Nissan Note e-Power

The Nissan Note e-Power comes into this face-off with sharper and more muscular looks than before and a premium interior that elevates one’s journey.

Technology abounds both within and underneath, giving the Nissan Note e-Power a zesty step forward and a frugality toward the petrol-y stuff.

Though there could only be one winner, you won’t go wrong with either of these great Cat A hatchbacks.

AutoApp Car Of The Year Best Cat A Hatchback
Nissan Note e-Power

With 361 points, the resounding victory goes to the Nissan Note e-Power. Combining a unique powertrain with an upmarket and practical interior meant the judging panel was on the same page from the get-go when declaring the Nissan Note e-Power the winner.

More on the scoring categories used to derive points here.

Congratulations to the Nissan Note e-Power for winning the AutoApp Car of the Year 2025 Best Cat A Hatchback!

Read more automotive news at AutoApp, or check out our latest videos on Ignition Labs TV and on TikTok!

How Does ACOTY Define This Class?

Vehicles in contention need to sit as their respective manufacturer’s flagship, or fall in or above the 90th price percentile compared to the rest of the line-up for ACOTY 2024. This then qualifies them as luxury vehicles. They also need to be propelled solely by electricity. Pretty simple.

Meet The Contenders

The luxury vehicle segment has always been a hotbed of contests, with manufacturers pulling out all the stops they can to keep their well-heeled clientele bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

It then makes sense to take things to the next level by making these luxo-barges even quieter by ripping out their internal combustion engines and endowing them with batteries and electric drive. The push for electrification in this segment has become even more apparent in 2023.

And so, three luxury electric vehicles were reviewed this year. They are, clockwise from top-left, the Audi Q8 e-tron, Mercedes-Benz EQS 450+ and BMW i7 xDrive60.

While the Merc and Bimmer comfortably qualify price percentile-wise at 96th and 92nd respectively, the Audi only comes in at the 80th price percentile. However, the Q8 is the Ingolstadt-based manufacturer’s flagship SUV EV, and that’s why it’s here.

While it may be an SUV, the Audi Q8 e-tron impressed us with its business-like looks, generous interior space and supple ride comfort. That Audi has engineered a large SUV to drive the way it does and be uber-practical is something to be proud of.

The Mercedes-Benz EQS 450+ is designed based on aerodynamic efficiency and its looks are the result. We liked how the right amount of technology is implemented within while being able to mood-light like a discotheque at night if one so chooses.

We appreciated the generous and supple interior that’s de facto in this segment. We also liked its ease and comfort of driving and the relatively large range the battery pack provides.

There’s nothing that looks like the Bimmer. We liked how, in darker shades, the BMW i7 xDrive 60 can achieve a murdered-out gangsta look from the word go. We appreciated the technology inside that would keep wealthy tech geeks happy for hours on end and is pretty easy to use.

We especially were impressed by how well the i7 drove and rode, and how much of a compelling proposition it has become to the upper crust of society.

Picking a winner, as you can comprehend, was a tough call for the four of us, for each entrant brings something meaningfully captivating to the table. Suffice to say, you can’t go wrong with any of them.

However, this is a competition, and when all’s said and done, there can only be one.

AutoApp Car Of The Year Best Luxury EV
BMW i7 xDrive 60

While the BMW i7 xDrive 60 is the most expensive of the trio, it also offers so much for the price. Despite its arguably polarizing looks, the Bavarian manufacturer must be applauded for daring to break with tradition and create something that snaps heads and looks like nothing else on the road. That’s why it clinches the top spot with 386 points.

More on the scoring categories used to derive points here.

Congratulations to the BMW i7 xDrive 60 for winning the AutoApp Car of the Year 2024 Best Luxury EV!

Read more automotive news at AutoApp, or check out our latest videos on Ignition Labs TV!