VALUE-for-money car brand Dacia has joined Lotus and MG in becoming new brands to win in the UK Car of the Year awards.

Dacia was victorious with its Jogger MPV in the Best Large Family vehicle category while MG took the honours in the Best Family section with the all-electric MG4 and Lotus was voted top among the Best Performance cars with the Emira supercar.

Picking up two category wins for very different products was Toyota. The Japanese manufacturer's Aygo X triumphed in the Best City category, while the prize for Best Coupe went to the GR86.

The two remaining awards were for crossovers - the fastest-growing area of the UK's automotive sector.

Kia's Niro was recognised as top of the class within the Best Crossover category, while the Range Rover triumphed in the Large Crossover category.

This year's judging panel, which comprises 27 motoring journalists based all over the UK, were asked to choose their winners in vehicle classes ranging from Best City Car to Best Crossover to Best Performance.

The top model in each of the segments has now qualified for the next stage - the category of UK Car of the Year 2023, which will be announced on March 10, 2023.