Top Gear presenters unveil their cars of the year

Paddy McGuinness, Freddie Flintoff and Chris Harris have unveiled their cars of the year, with the Land Rover Defender taking the top prize at the TopGear.com Awards.

The presenting trio chose three distinctly different motors for their personal favourites during a virtual ceremony on Top Gear’s YouTube page.

McGuinness went for Mr Nippy, the all-electric ice cream van he created for the latest Top Gear series, while Flintoff opted for the 30-year-old Jaguar XJ220 he drove at over 200mph on the show.

And Harris voted for the Porsche 911 Turbo S. However, car of the year was won by the Land Rover Defender.

Explaining his left-field choice, McGuinness said: “There’s only one that changes the game completely when it comes to electric cars. Everything about it, the size of it, the performance, the handling, the looks you get on the road and its all-round capabilities. It’s just an absolutely mind-blowing, amazing car to drive.

“And that car is Mr Nippy. It’s like a supercar in many ways – you look at it and know it’s completely impractical, but it just makes you smile.”

Flintoff said: “I’m talking about the cars you had on your bedroom wall, and the XJ220 is definitely one of them. You know what? If I was in a position where money was no object, I’d probably get two.”

And Harris said: “I know a Porsche 911 Turbo S isn’t an everyman choice, given it cost the best part of £200,000 with some options, but the paradox of the 911 gets more and more interesting as the car gets older. Porsche has made a car that drives so purely and so easily and still has all that space inside that you wouldn’t expect.”

During the ceremony, 18 awards were handed out voted for by the Top Gear team. As well as car of the year, the Defender also won unstoppable force of the year.

Other winners included the Aston Martin DBX, which was named super-SUV of the year, the Honda e was crowned city car of the year and the Rolls Royce Ghost was the winner of luxury car of the year.

Ford was named manufacturer of the year. The ceremony is available to watch now on the official Top Gear YouTube page.

The December issue of Top Gear Magazine is out now.