Byron Mathioudakis' Top 5 cars of 2024: An electrification clean sweep, from the cheapest Suzuki Swift Hybrid to living the Ford e-Transit Custom Sport Van-tasy!

Whichever way you look at it, 2024 was a historic year.

It began with the Ford Ranger having bumped the Toyota HiLux from the top spot after a seven-year run. Chinese brands GWM and BYD turned the ute world upside down with the electrified Cannon Alpha hybrid and Shark 6 PHEV respectively. Slowing EV demand saw the lauded MG4’s $31K drive-away fire sale, achieving EV/ICE price parity for the first time ever. And freer-supply of Toyota’s RAV4 hybrid may make it the first SUV to snatch number one. We’ll know that outcome in early January.

All are landmark events, yet none overshadow the joy of discovering a great new car.

Another eclectic list, their common denominator is electricity coursing through their powertrains – a thread only noticed after this was compiled.

As in the past, this is a subjective list, albeit one firmly rooted in objective principles, so the heart and head generally agree.

Some of the previous years’ top-five still resonate strongly today – namely the Honda Civic Type R, Subaru WRX, BMW 5 Series and Kia EV9.

Will any of the class of 2024 do the same in 12 months’ time?

Let’s go!

Hyundai Ioniq 5 N

Already a contender for Car of the Decade, the Ioniq 5 is Hyundai’s modern masterpiece, blending advanced engineering and brilliant packaging with comparative accessibility, excellent driveability and utterly timeless design.

Even after three years, the crisp, Giugiaro-inspired lines remain eye-catching.

Beware, though, because the way the Ioniq 5 N possesses the soul is satanic. It’s the way it moves that seduces you – lightning throttle, fluid reflexes, Scalextric grip. The driver is like the giant hand playing with a favourite toy car. The N seems to defy physics with a supernatural mix of speed, agility, control and zeal.

Sneer all you like at the fake cog-swapping paddle-shifters and scoff when the faux aural soundtrack ebbs and flows with your every throttle input, because they somehow add a hitherto elusive organic sensation to this EV experience.

2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N

The Ioniq 5 N is the sexy replicant you fall head-over-hills for.

Do we wish it were cheaper than $110,838 before on-road costs? Of course. Do any of the N styling bits enhance the standard version’s aesthetics? Unlikely. Quite the opposite, really.

Yet this Hyundai – we’re talking about a Hyundai here, remember – is so much more than a hot hatch, so much greater than a grand tourer. The Ioniq 5 N’s ambition seems boundless, transcendental even, and impossible to imagine from any carmaker just a few years ago.

Both sunshine and a cyclone harnessed harmoniously inside a bottle, this is the most ecstatic driving experience of 2024.

Suzuki Swift Hybrid

OK, back down to planet earth, the latest Suzuki Swift, now wearing the hybrid suffix.

Now in its sixth generation since the series debuted in 1983, it shouldn’t have made this list.

Essentially a reskin of the pretty preceding version that was all-new in 2017, the latest Swift was met with scepticism even before launch. Heavy-handed styling, no sign of the Sport or Boosterjet three-pot turbo tearaway and a hybrid badge that suggests more electrification than the modest additional starter/motor generator provides all augured badly for the newcomer.

We needn’t have worried.

For starters, in person, the styling works better than in pictures (if not better than before), with some interesting details. Maybe it will age well. Secondly, there’s appreciably improved safety and multimedia. Thirdly, a manual gearbox is available – thank you, Suzuki! And fourthly, sub-$25K pricing makes this Swift one of this country’s cheapest new cars.

2025 Suzuki Swift Hybrid

Better still, the latest model drives like a city car with a 40-year heritage should, providing plenty of poke, immersive handling, a cushy ride, handy manoeuvrability and appropriate vision.

Yet the Suzuki is also grown-up enough to feel planted when pushed harder and secure out on the open road. The considerable Japanese engineering brilliance is palpable in this lightweight quality runabout. Fun, yet sophisticated.

It’s also worth noting the mild-hybrid tech is a masterstroke. Yes, premium unleaded petrol is required, but sub-4.0L/100km economy almost helps justify that debatable hybrid badge. Particularly as the new-gen MG 3 Hybrid can’t match the Japanese supermini’s frugality.

In an age of SUV supremacy, superminis like this are a dying breed. A decade ago, there were over 25 choices. Today there are fewer than a handful.

That motorcycle manufacturer Suzuki still even bothers is brilliant enough; that the result is a Swift as vibrant and likeable as this means we are truly grateful.

Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid

If you’re having trouble picturing the previous Santa Fe, you’re not alone.

The old Hyundai family-sized three-row SUV blended in to the point of being a wallflower. All the dynamic perks were under the dull skin. It was a classic case of hiding its many talents under a bushel.

No such fate befalls the latest Santa Fe, the fifth generation since 2000.

A boxy, Land Rover-evoking silhouette imbue the ultra-Americana styling with presence and purpose, whilst – love ‘em or hate ‘em – the distinctive lighting details are talking points.

2025 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid

Hyundai also went all out with a classy interior. Vast, airy and spacious, it features an elegant dashboard, thoughtful ergonomics, family-focused practicality and versatile seating for up to seven. This is a cabin you escape to, not from.

Thankfully, the Santa Fe retains its predecessor’s deft dynamic capabilities, with a solid and involving driving experience that’s been enhanced by a seamless new hybrid powertrain. This means brand loyalists are no longer torn between a dirty diesel for economy or thirsty V6 petrol engine for performance.

And if all that is not enough, there’s the pricing. From $55,000 before on-road costs, the base seven-seater Hybrid provides exceptional value for money, while the lush Calligraphy flagship makes a convincing luxury family hauler.

Chunky good looks, real-world efficiency, clever packaging and decent driveability elevate the latest Santa Fe.

Mini Cooper Electric

This was unexpected.

When news broke some years ago that a version of the 2024 Mini Cooper would be co-developed with China’s Great Wall Motors of Steed Ute infamy, hearts sank.

It’s like collaborating with a rugby association to fashion a tutu.

But we needn’t have feared, because the result is a tight, clean and fresh reinterpretation of the 1959 original’s minimalistic charm – yet one designed and engineered from the ground-up to be an EV.

It only looks somewhat like the (unrelated) restyled petrol version. Park them side-by-side and the purer Electric’s proportional and design differences become clearer.

Now, we’re only driven the SE version with the bigger battery size, which might be a disadvantage given its extra mass compared to the lighter Cooper E, but even that delivers on the crisp steering and hunkered-down handling of Minis past.

2025 Mini Cooper Electric

Actually, the Electric is better, because a low-centre of gravity EV architecture and sophisticated suspension engineering are a natural fit for the instant torque that an electric powertrain serves up, resulting in a more agile, more eager and more fun driving experience. Phew!

Similarly, reimagining the original’s very basic Morris instrumentation with an ever-configurable OLED circular touchscreen, presenting beautiful, glossy markings that include retro analogue-style speedometer choices, is a joy to behold. And, after a moment’s familiarisation, easy to fathom.

That the latest Mini EV is also as comfy and refined as you’d expect from a BMW product is just icing on the cake.

Sure, the price is inevitably indulgent, the rear-seat packaging limited and, in some configurations, the trim can err on the twee. No Mini was ever perfect.

But the Electric is the concept reinvented for this era with the basics intact and its heart in the right place. A rare fun indulgence.

Ford e-Transit Custom Sport

2025 Ford e-Transit Custom

Not everyone gets vans. But what about a van that feels and drives like a Tesla?

Driven in Germany earlier this year, the coming e-Transit Custom builds on 60 years of continuous segment-leading engineering. Developed in Britain and built in Turkey, this is a handsome, accommodating, comfortable, safe and immersive driving machine that also happens to be big enough to work or live inside.

The regular diesel-powered Transit Custom already sets the pace in mid-sized vans, but the e-Transit EV version – particularly in fetching Sport guise – literally elevates the driving experience with strong, silent and smooth acceleration, great steering, an isolated ride and a super-tight turning circle.

2025 Ford e-Transit Custom

The fun doesn’t stop in the urban jungle either.

Find a quiet mountain road with a tight set of corners, and the Ford EV’s handling agility and outstanding roadholding completely bely its shape and bulk.

Australian pricing has yet to be finalised at the time of writing, and we are expecting it to be in the $80K region, but there’s little doubt the greatest new van in the world wears the e-Transit Custom badge.

Honourable mentions

Smart #3

It’s what a Mercedes EQA isn’t: Friendly. Efficient. Fast. Fun. Affordable.

Honda HR-V Hybrid Series II

Exquisitely designed, engineered and packaged and now real value too.

Mazda CX-70

Luxurious and dynamic five-seater take on CX-90. Solid and BMW-like.

Polestar 3

Charming, cosseting and beautifully packaged EV SUV with Nordic flair.

Ram 1500

Unexpectedly the best and most civilised of the full-sized US pick-ups.

Maserati GranTurismo

A grand touring supercar supermodel and a phenomenal drive.