The What Car? Car of the Year Awards 2016 saw prizes awarded to the Renault Zoe and Volkswagen Passat GTE in the electric car categories.

The Passat Estate GTE scooped the overall Best Electric Car prize, along with winning the Best Buy £20,000-£40,000 category. Meanwhile, Renault’s Zoe Dynamique Nav Rapid Charge took the Best Electric Car for less than £20,000 title for third year running.

The judges said of the Passat GTE:

“This really is the kind of hybrid you could use every day without even thinking of it as an EV. The Passat GTE mixes a 1.4-litre turbocharged petrol engine with an electric motor and VW’s six-speed DSG automatic gearbox, and it shifts between the two power sources smoothly.

“The interior quality is every bit as good as on other Passats, there’s enough room for five adults to sit in comfort, and our preferred edition, the Estate, has a boot that’ll take all but the largest loads. Best of all, the Passat Estate GTE makes a great potential company car choice thanks to its official CO2 emissions of just 39 g/km and a benefit-in-kind tax rate of 5 per cent. It’s easily the best family hybrid we’ve seen to date.”

Commenting on the decision to give ZOE the award for a third consecutive year, Jim Holder, Editorial Director, What Car? said:

“The Renault Zoe was our favourite electric car for less than £20,000 a year ago, and tweaks to the specification and the added ability to go further have only increased its appeal. The Zoe’s main strength is that it feels like a conventional, stylish, nippy small car that happens to cost pennies to run.

“The electric motor has enough shove for the Zoe to lead the charge away from traffic lights, and the cabin seats four in reasonable comfort. Even the boot is larger than you’ll find in many regular small cars – easily big enough for a week’s shopping.”

Read more: Next Green Car