Owners of the Hyundai Kona voted the compact SUV to victory as the Auto Express Driver Power Awards car of the year for 2021.

The Korean product generated the most positive feedback in the Small SUV and Electric Vehicle (EV) categories of the consumer survey to be the only car to deliver a Driver Power survey double on its way to overall victory.

UK car owners rated their vehicles in a number of categories – including reliability, technology, fuel economy and running costs – to compile the results.

Also proving popular with their owners were Kia’s small car range – with the Rio, Ceed and Picanto all delivering class-leading scores – while Mercedes-Benz delivered a brace of class wins with it’s a-Class hatchback and E-Class executive saloon.

Auto Express editor-in-chief, Steve Fowler, said: “The Hyundai Kona has been voted our Driver Power Car of the Year thanks to its comprehensive roster of talents, with owners telling us they love almost everything about this small SUV, from the tidy handling, fantastic infotainment and low running costs, to the strong reliability, sleek looks and strong drivetrains.

“What’s more, when we separate out the Kona Electric, we find that this is the top-rated EV in our survey, getting the better of both the Nissan Leaf and Tesla Model 3.

“Strong stuff indeed, but it wasn’t just the KONA that impressed owners: Hyundai’s Ioniq took a win in the fuel economy and running costs category, and finished second in the compact family car class, while the i10 took the silver medal in our rundown of city cars.”

Ashley Andrew, the managing director of Hyundai Motor UK, said: “Fresh off the back of six wins for our model range at the Auto Express Awards, we’re delighted to see that the readers are just as enthusiastic about Hyundai as the writers.

“The Auto Express Driver Power Survey is a great barometer for the real-life ownership experience of a Hyundai customer and to see so many of our models scoring highly, let alone topping the table, is a testament to the breadth and depth of the ever-developing Hyundai product range.”

The winners of each class in 2021’s Auto Express Driver Power Awards were:

Best city car - Kia Picanto

Best supermini - Kia Rio

Best premium supermini - Mini hatchback

Best compact family car - Kia Ceed

Best premium compact family car - Mercedes-Benz A-Class

Best compact executive car - Tesla Model 3

Best executive car - Mercedes-Benz E-Class

Best small SUV - Hyundai Kona

Best mid-size SUV - Mazda CX-5

Best premium small SUV - Volvo XC40

Best premium mid-size SUV - Lexus NX

Best sports car - BMW 2 Series

Best electric car - Hyundai Kona Electric