My Car of the Year 1960-2019 (Part 5: The 2000s)

It's almost the end of this list! We only have 20 years of the 60 to go, so let's see what happens in the Tech Age of the 2000s.

2000: New Mini

Joakim Honkasalo (Unsplash)

It was a bland year in 2000, with the only highlights being the Ariel Atom and the New Mini. I have to pick the Mini, though. It's bigger than the old Mini but it's definitely a more modern car. Featuring a mixture of Toyota and BMW engines, the miracle of the Mini lies, just like the original, in it's packaging and it's zippy performance. The JCW version wasn't a world beating hot hatch but it was a perfectly competent one.

2001: Lamborghini Murcielago

French Car Hunter (Unsplash)

There were some truly awful cars introduced in 2001- Renault Avantime, Perodua Kelisa, Ssangyong Rexton, Jeep Liberty... Ultimately, with the flaws of the Aston Vanquish and Renault Clio V6, this has to go to the Lamborghini Murcielago. It featured good handling, a giant V12 and scissor doors; the former of which helped it set a lap record at the Top Gear track, the latter of which probably helped the owners look cool.

2002: Mazda RX8

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Lots of cars were introduced in 2002. Some were terrible (VW Touraeg, Nissan Murano, Daewoo Lacetti). Some were good (honorable mentions all around to BMW Z4, Mazda6, Volvo XC90, Koenigsegg CC8S, Ferrari Enzo and TVR Tamora). But I have to agree with Top Gear's judgement on the cars and go the Mazda RX8. The RX8 just didn't have a weakness; it had a good engine, brilliant handling, great practicality, good cool factor (these two are likely linked to the suicide doors), good fuel economy and good value. In a market featuring the dour Nissan 350Z, and freshly without Toyota, the RX8 proved to be the car that was needed.

2003: Mercedes SLR

The VW Golf Mk5 was a good car, but it was bathed over in a swarm of expensive cars in 2003- Bentley Continental, Rolls-Royce Phantom, Lamborghini Gallardo, Mercedes SLR and Ford GT. I'm going to pick the SLR, with a honorable mention to both Brits. The SLR is a brilliant car, featuring a giant V8, a super-luxury interior and a top speed of 330 kmh. It's not really a track hypercar, more of a super-GT, but it's a near-perfect super-GT.

2004: Aston Martin DB9

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There were some very interesting cars in 2004: both civilian cars (Ford Focus, Volvo S40) and sports cars (Ferrari F430, Maserati MC12 and Quattroporte, Koenigsegg CCX, Porsche 997 911 and Carrera GT). I'll go the Aston Martin DB9, though. It combines brilliant performance, a big V12, and supreme coolness. It's Bond's car, and it's beautiful, and that's all.

2005: Bugatti Veyron

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Around 100 cars were unveiled in 2005. These include the Aston Vantage, BMW 3-Series E90, Mazda MX5 (NC) and Range Rover Sport. However, there can only be one winner. The truly mad Bugatti Veyron. Featuring a top speed of over 400 kilometres per hour (James May certified), as well as brilliant luxury, it's not a great handler but it'll go past four times the speed limit.

2006: Audi R8

This year there was exactly 100 cars. This included some awful cars, and suprisingly few greats. There were some good SUVs (Honda CRV, Mazda CX7 and CX9) but ultimately there was only one choice- Audi R8. Audi's Porsche fighter took the fight a lot closer that almost any other challenger. Featuring a big V8 (which was later replaced by a bigger V10), and great handling, it was also notable for being one of the easiest-to-drive supercars ever.

2007: Nissan GTR

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2007 was a watershed year for a few- Hyundai, who introduced their first good car, the i30; Pagani, who went around demolishing track records with the Zonda R, and Tesla who were founded this year. However, for the third time in four years, I'm going a supercar. The Nissan GTR was the other 911 fighter where there was a convincing argument that it beat the grandfather of supercars. It had mind melting performance due to its twin turbo V6 rather than a V8 or V10, as well as being a brilliant cruiser. Since its release, tuners such as Liberty Walk have also improved on it.

2008: KTM X-Bow

Ed Callow (Torquespeak/Wikipedia)

There was actually suprisingly little competition in 2008, and while I'd never usually give a purpose built track car an award like this, there just wasn't any credible competition. The X-Bow is a pretty nice car regardless, with a turbocharged Audi engine and virtually no weight giving it motorbike-level performance. Its looks are also... interesting, but never more so than in the GT4 version that was a "flying saucer" cockpit and door.

2009: Chevy Camaro

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There were a few interesting contenders for 2009, unlike the previous year. For example, Chevy Camaro, Ferrari 458 and Peugeot RCZ. I have to go with the Camaro. It's a brilliant new muscle car; thumping V8, not a brilliant chassis and tonnes of power and torque. Add to this, iconic design. A really cool car.