What Car? has revealed the winners of its 2021 awards, which saw the Dacia Sandero take the Car of the Year title while a number of electric car also scooped accolades.

The Dacia Sandero took the top title for its comfort, spaciousness, safety aids and technology

The top award was given to the Sandero 1.0 TCe 90 Comfort, which costs £11,595, but prices for the Sandero start from £7,995.

What Car? editor Steve Huntingford said: “In the eyes of our test team it stood out for being delightfully comfortable, incredibly spacious and for its suite of modern safety aids and technology.”

The 2021 awards also included titles for electrified vehicles. The Volkswagen ID.3 took the Small Electric Car of the Year title while the Tesla Model 3 scooped Large Electric Car of the Year. The Skoda Octavia iV Estate won the Plug-in Hybrid Car of the Year Award.

The Safety Award was also won by the Volkswagen ID.3, with Tesla taking the Technology Award for offering customers the opportunity to update their cars over-the-air. Both awards were backed by Thatcham Research. And the Reliability Award was taken by Lexus.

What Car? Car of the Year winners 2021:

• What Car? Car of the Year 2021 overall winner: Dacia Sandero 0.9 TCe 90 Comfort
• Small car winner: Dacia Sandero 0.9 TCe 90 Comfort
• Family car winner: Seat Leon 1.5 TSI 130 Evo FR
• Hot hatch winner: Toyota Yaris GR 1.6 Circuit Pack
• Small SUV winner: Ford Puma 1.0 Ecoboost Hybrid (mHEV) 155 Titanium
• Family SUV winner: Volvo XC40 T3 R Design auto
• Large SUV winner: Kia Sorento 1.6 Turbo Hybrid ‘2’
• Executive car winner: BMW 3 Series 330e M Sport (M Sport Pro Pack)
• Luxury car winner: BMW 5 Series 530e M Sport (M Sport Pro Pack)
• Luxury SUV (more than £50k) winner: BMW X5 xDrive45e M Sport
• Hybrid (plug-in) winner: Skoda Octavia Estate 1.4 TSI iV SE Technology
• Small electric car winner: Volkswagen ID.3 Pro Performance Life
• Large electric car winner: Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus
• MPV winner: Volkswagen Touran 1.5 TSI 150 SE
• Estate winner: Skoda Superb Estate 2.0 TDI 150 SEL
• Pick-up winner: Ford Ranger 2.0L EcoBlue 213PS Wildtrack auto
• Coupe winner: BMW 4 Series 420i M Sport (Pro Pack)
• Coupe SUV winner: BMW X6 xDrive30d M Sport
• Convertible winner: Fiat 500 Cabrio Icon
• Sports car winner: Porsche 718 Cayman GTS 4.0
• Sports SUV winner: Ford Puma ST
• Performance car winner: Porsche Taycan 4S
• Technology Award winner: Tesla Over-the-air safety updates
• Reliability Award winner: Lexus
• Safety Award winner: Volkswagen ID.3
• True MPG Award winner: Toyota Yaris 1.5 VVT-i Hybrid