There has been no shortage of cars in 2024 that have left a lasting impression on us at CT towers, and picking favourites hasn’t been easy.
Earlier in the year, the Lamborghini Revuelto took our breaths away with its utterly mind-spinning performance, yet managed to be something you could actually live with for a bit. An utterly special thing but, with it costing north of £500,000, it sits in a realm of unobtanium.
Then there was the Porsche 911 S/T. We claimed it could be objectively the best sports car ever made, yet it’ll be even rarer than the Lamborghini – and anyone who isn’t incredibly friendly with a local Porsche dealer had zero chance of owning or perhaps even seeing one.
On the complete opposite end of the scale, both the long-wheelbase Volkswagen ID Buzz and Dacia Duster charmed us in different ways. The VW’s updates ironed out many of the flaws without taking away any of the quirkiness, while the Duster’s simplicity and good, honest nature are something we have to appreciate and are a rarity in this day and age.
Yet, given the chance, neither of those are ones we’d want to grab the keys to just to take out for one blast on a quiet Sunday morning. For us, of all the new cars in 2024, our pick of the year had to strike a balance – something that truly got us excited, yet wasn’t hopelessly unobtainable.
Which, after weeks of much brain-racking, has led us to the top of the North York Moors on a cold, grey October day. Motoring journalism isn’t always a glamorous job.
Brightening things though – metaphorically and quite literally given two of the paint colours – were the three cars we’ve declared as our favourites of the year. The refreshed Toyota GR Yaris, the overhauled Aston Martin Vantage and perhaps 2024’s wildcard of the year, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N. None you’d consider direct competitors, yet each grabbing us in different ways.
It’s the GR Yaris that I’ve spent my time with in the build-up to the crescendo of our car of the year test. A car that Toyota doesn’t need to build anymore, given the original was designed for a now-redundant WRC homologation rule, yet has still chosen to practically rework for this ‘Gen 2’ car.
While yes, it’s ultimately the same core platform as the car introduced in 2020, it’s been significantly refreshed enough to justify itself as a bonafide sequel. An old-school ‘Evo’ model, if you’d like.
It’s a case of lots of minute changes adding up to make a big difference. More spot welds and structural adhesives stiffen the chassis, an increase in suspension mounting aims to reduce roll, and there are more system recalibrations than my mind can process. Then there are the two very, very key changes. First is more power, with an extra 19bhp and 22lb ft of torque liberated from the 1.6-litre turbo three-cylinder, now good for 276bhp and 288lb ft in emissions-strangled EU spec.
More intriguing is the new option of an auto gearbox, as fitted to the car we have here. Despite borrowing its shift selector from a CVT-equipped Corolla, this is a much more interesting prospect – a newly developed eight-speed torque converter that Toyota calls ‘Direct Automatic Transmission’.
Toyota GR Yaris, front, driving
I’ll concede now that any GR Yaris is going to be a better driver’s car with a manual but don’t let that fool you into writing off the auto. A first chance to really open the hatch up on the twisty climb up the moors reveals it to be a good one.
Although sedate, smooth and admittedly a little hesitant in normal mode as you’re bimbling along, it’s the switch to Sport and thrashing the three-pot that brings the eight-speed to life. It’s remarkably quick in its shifts, with a snappiness better associated with a dual-clutch than a torque converter, and rarely finds itself wrong-footed.
Its short ratios mean you are going through them quite a lot but it means you’re able to effortlessly exploit the talents of the Yaris, most of which are centred around just how much grip is available to it.
Toyota GR Yaris, driving
On these well-sighted, albeit slightly bumpy and cambered Yorkshire roads, its agility shines through. It’s dazzling how well it responds to foot-flat cornering. Unsettling the Yaris is an almighty task. It doesn’t need to be a rally car for the road anymore, but it feels more like it than ever.
That’s not to say it’s a perfect car. For a start, even though the auto is great, you do still wish you were reaching for a six-speed gear stick. Then there’s the interior which, although now looking much neater and properly designed with its A80 Supra-style wraparound dash, still has pretty naff material quality across the board. Something forgivable when it was in the low £30k price bracket, less so now this ‘Evo’ is pushing close to £50k.
It’s a point that hits home with a switch over to the Aston Martin Vantage. Don’t mistake this for me stating the obvious that an Aston Martin is going to feel much nicer inside than a Toyota Yaris, but rather that feeling of getting what you paid for.
Aston Martin Vantage, front, driving
At £165,000 starting, we’re really stretching the definition of obtainable in our intro point. Yet, the Aston is a car that – provided you have the means – you’ll be able to waltz into your dealer and pick up. Plus we all know how depreciation for these goes, so give it 10 years and the Yaris and Aston may be priced a lot closer than you’d think.
But anyway, back to my point, the Vantage’s interior is an exceptionally special place to be. Another tenuous link to the Yaris is that this is part of an extensive reworking of the car – although this is technically a facelift of the car introduced in 2018, Aston says it’s about 80 per cent new.
Gone are the hand-me-down Mercedes bits and in place is a properly exotic feeling, beautifully made cabin. Although the uncomfortable carbon buckets optioned on this car feel a little at odds with the Grand Tourer vibe it otherwise gives off, which brings me onto the driving experience.
Aston Martin Vantage, rear, driving
If the Yaris is like a wasp darting after a fly, the Vantage is like a bull at a standstill locked onto a red flag draped in the distance.
Though the AMG-sourced 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 remains, Aston Martin has completely gone to town on it. Once producing 504bhp and 506lb ft of torque, those now stand at a monstrous 656bhp and 590lb ft.
On its reveal, it’s something we suspected would be too much, although fellow COTY adjudicator Matt Robinson concluded it helped make the car feel much more complete before its press launch in sunny Spain. We’re a far cry from there up in rural Yorkshire, though, and that’s something that initially shows.
Aston Martin Vantage, front, driving
Getting to grips with the Vantage proves to be a bit of a task at first. Power delivery is utterly brutal, and it seems all too easy to overwhelm the rear axle. My expectation was of an effortless GT car, yet it proves at first that it’s trying to come across like some raw, unhinged sports machine as it scrabbles for traction and generally feels unsettled. Getting that power down and making the most of it very quickly exposes the limits of my talents.
A bit of time spent dialling everything in helps, though. After some time fiddling with the six-stage traction control system to offer a little bit of slip without going overboard as well as softening off the dampers to better contend with the bumpy moors, it unveils a whole new character.
Yes, you’ve still got to have a delicate right foot to really get the power down, by which point the two cars you’re chasing have quite simply begun to disappear, but it’s beyond that initial stage that the Vantage comes alive. Up to speed, it’s strong in its power delivery and feels more composed the faster you’re going.
Once you’ve got a handle on the loose rear end, you begin to appreciate the pointiness of its front – more in line with a Porsche 911 than a Bentley Continental GT. Yet, it does beg the question of whether the Vantage is maybe a little too much for UK roads, a little too undecided if it wants to be a GT or sports car. A sublime thing, but one that requires some space and grappling of its analogue experience to truly get the best of it.
Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, front, driving
It’s a real contrast to the digital supremo that is our third contender. Bringing an electric SUV-ish brick to a Car Throttle COTY contest is something we’d have laughed at had you suggested it even a couple of years ago, but 2024 brought something along that made us rethink everything we thought about EVs.
That was the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, a car that left me so impressed when I first drove it, I declared it the first truly great-performance EV. Nothing on the horizon seems like it’ll top it, either.
It’s a curious prospect in this company. It’s only a touch shy on power compared with the Aston Vantage, with 641bhp and 548lb ft from its dual-motor setup. Granted, it’s also the heaviest of the lot here – Hyundai doesn’t officially quote a weight figure, but estimations put it at about 2.2 tonnes.
Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, side, driving
Unlike most ‘fast’ EV variants which are just the base car with big motors, Hyundai’s N division has done a lot to the Ioniq 5 to separate it. Those include an electronic rear differential, torque vectoring, extra chassis welding points, uprated brakes and even a new steering rack. All stuff we’ve come to associate with proper internal combustion performance cars.
Those translate to a car that takes away some of the numbness we associate with EVs. There’s definitely more feel through the wheel, the brake transition from regen to physical discs is seamless and stopping power is excellent despite the heft, and altered dampers do a remarkable job of disguising that further.
Grip levels are impressive and that torque vectoring will even make it feel playful at the rear. Yet, even in its usual N mode, it has the same drawback as every other EV. It feels quick when you put your foot down but, beyond the initial acceleration, it’s a bit same-old.
Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, rear, driving
That is until you unleash the party trick of the Ioniq 5 N, the thing that turns it from a quick EV to a compelling package. e-Shift is a digital recreation of internal combustion, simulating an eight-speed torque converter and piping in a fake engine noise to replicate the feeling of driving a real petrol-powered car.
The effect is a car that’s technically worse… and it’s all the better for it. Gimmicky though it sounds, it’s impressive at tricking your brain into imagining real oily bits under the skin. It introduces a real torque curve, it will hit a ‘rev limiter’, and you can get your gearing wrong.
None of it is real, but it is very, very fun. It’s not perfect – those ‘engine sounds’ do sound a little too Gran Turismo – but as a demonstration of the technology, it moves the goalposts.
Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, front, driving
The Ioniq 5 N isn’t without drawbacks elsewhere, mind you. You sit a bit too high for a performance car, courtesy of all those batteries under the floor, and there is the short range. Efficiency isn’t something we should associate with performance cars, but close to 200 miles when you’re driving it hard does mean charging stops are going to be frequent with ownership.
It’s why, although we were tempted, we can’t quite award the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N CT’s car of the year this time around. It’s mightily impressive, but it’s still not enough to topple the real thing.
Not that the Aston Martin Vantage is comparable directly, but that’s a true showcase of the proper sports car experience. Given endless miles of Autobahn stretches and brilliant coastal roads, of the three here, it’s the one you’d want to drive the most. But that’s a fantasy land, the reality is though it’s mightily impressive, times to exploit its full potential are too few and far between for us to give it the crowning glory.
Toyota GR Yaris, front, 3/4
Ultimately, it came down to one thing. No matter what any of us drove, there was always one car each of us wanted the keys to. The almighty Toyota GR Yaris is our car of the year for 2024.