AN electric vehicle has landed top prize in the first-ever UK Car of the Year awards.

The BMW i3 scooped the car of the year 2014 title are well as triumphing the Best Supermini category.

In the overall vote, which featured the likes of the Porsche Cayman, Range Rover Sport, BMW 5 Series, Citroen C4 Grand Picasso and Audi A3, almost half of the 27-strong judging panel chose the i3.

Runner-up for car of the year was the Ford Fiesta ST, which won the Best Performance Car category, while the Skoda Octavia Estate and Jaguar F-type - which topped the Best Estate and Best Open Top Car sections - shared third place.

Awards chief John Challen said: "Alternative vehicles have made a big impression on UK car buyers in recent years, and the i3 takes things to the next level.

"It might be a new direction for BMW, but the i3 successfully retains the driving characteristics from BMW's more established models."

And BMW's UK marketing director Uwe Dreyer added: "For the i3 to be voted as the first-ever UK Car of the Year is real testament to the years of research and development that have gone into making BMW's first electric production car.

"It has pushed the boundaries in every way from sustainable production, to its unique construction and revolutionary ownership proposition."

The full list of category winners was: Best Supermini - BMW i3, Small Hatch - Audi A3, Family Car - Skoda Octavia, Executive Car - BMW 5 Series, Luxury Car - Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Estate Car - Skoda Octavia Estate, MPV - Citroen C4 Grand Picasso, 4x4 - Range Rover Sport, Coupe - Porsche Cayman, Open Top Car - Jaguar F-type and Performance Car - Ford Fiesta ST.