2024 was a roller coaster of surprises, shifts and game-changing moments
Paul Barker takes a look back at the past 365 days
We’ve somehow reached the last issue of 2024, and looking back at our review of the year, there’s been plenty going on!
Resurrected names have been a theme of the past 12 months, with the Ford Capri, Vauxhall Frontera and two returning Renaults – the new 4 and 5 – while Jaguar has gone the whole hog and will reinvent itself completely in 2026 after ending sales of its entire model range and giving us a glimpse of an all-electric future.
We saw the first electric cars from Alfa Romeo and Suzuki this year, meaning it’s pretty much just Land Rover without an EV, something that will change in 2026 with the electric Range Rover’s arrival. But this year brilliant new cars, such as Skoda’s Kodiaq and Superb, and the Dacia Duster, showed there’s still a strong demand for good internal combustion engine models, too.
Our New Car Awards overall winner proved you can have it both ways, with the Citroen C3 available in petrol and electric form, and it’s excellent value in both. At the other end of the pricing scale, Aston Martin, Bentley, Ferrari, Lamborghini and McLaren all revealed new cars that most of us can only dream of driving and owning.
There were big changes at Auto Express, too. First, we gave the magazine a significant facelift in September, freshening the look alongside a new website. This final issue of the year also marks the end of an era for our fantastic products coverage.
Our industry-leading tests have been overseen by Kim Adams for more than 25 years, but he’s decided now is the time to take a well earned break. We’re grateful for everything he has done for Auto Express across so many years, and it’s his hard work and thorough testing that have made our product tests the best in the business. I’m delighted to say that his replacement, our incoming new Products Editor Tom Barnard, is someone who’s been associated with Auto Express since the nineties, and has been working closely with Kim for a number of years, so he’s been taught all the tricks and techniques to make sure our product tests will remain the best in the business!
All that’s left is to say thank you for continuing to enjoy Auto Express and to wish you a brilliant Christmas and Happy New Year. We’ll be back with our next issue on 1 January.
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