8. Hyundai Tucson – 15,496
The Hyundai Tucson is a serial winner at the Auto Express New Car Awards and it appears to have impressed plenty of buyers so far in 2025 as well. Not only does it have striking looks, intuitive on-board tech and a premium-feeling cabin which wouldn’t be out of place on more expensive and high-end models, the Tuscon’s recent mid-life refresh has helped it keep with its rivals.
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9. Volvo XC40 – 15,267
It’s no longer the youngest member of the Swedish brand’s line-up, but the Volvo XC40 is clearly still a winner in terms of pure buyer appeal. This upmarket small SUV faces no shortage of competitors, but the combination of ride and interior comfort, a full suite of safety kit and a healthy dose of family-friendly practicality is helping to keep this ageing Volvo close to the competition (at least for now).
10. Volkswagen Tiguan – 15,223
Many people appreciate a no-nonsense approach, and the Volkswagen Tiguan is a pretty solid all-rounder that’s good at ticking many of the essential boxes. It’s practical, well built, efficient and feels a bit more premium inside than it actually is. Company car drivers are best catered for by the plug-in hybrid model, which should help keep running costs in check.
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Sales vs registrations: inside the numbers
There’s an important distinction to be made where the UK’s monthly and annual ‘car sales’ figures are concerned. Namely, that they don’t actually count the number of cars sold in the sense that many people might expect. The numbers provided by the SMMT are for car ‘registrations’ rather than being sales figures.
When customers buy a new car, it is registered before it can be driven on the road, but cars are also registered by manufacturers and dealers before they have a customer to go to. This practice of processing pre-registered cars is done for various reasons, but often the goal is to move stock through the supply chain, avoiding bottlenecks or to hit targets. It means that a significant proportion of the cars in the figures could be pre-registered, and estimates of how many range between 10 and 20 per cent.
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