The 37th edition of Belgian mobility organization VAB’s ‘Family Car of the Year’ was dominated this year by the Chinese, with two out of three titles for the full-electric BYD Dolphin and the LPG-fueled BAIC X55. The Romanian Dacia Jogger 1.0 ECOG seven-seater grabbed gold in the ICE category below €25 000, again proving budget is vital for families to choose a car today.

For BYD (Build Your Dreams), it’s the second victory after the Atto 3 winning last year’s edition. This year, two other Chinese brands, the MG 4 and Smart #1, finished second and third after the Dolphin in the EV category.

Three categories

Traditionally, the ‘VAB Family Car of the Year’ titles are awarded by a jury of professional car journalists and a family jury testing the enlisted cars last weekend in Zolder around (but not on) the race circuit.

The competing cars are divided into three categories of family cars: one for small cars up to €25 000 list price, one for bigger family cars up to €38 000, and one for fully electric vehicles (BEVs) up to €52 000.

All cars are judged for their comfort level, driveability, standard equipment, and actual costs, including purchase price, taxes, insurance, maintenance, and energy costs. VAB calculated the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and the actual cost per kilometer for each car based on an average of eight years that families tend to keep a car before replacing it while driving 10 000 or 20 000 km a year.

Budget is key

Seen in that light, this year’s winners confirm that private car buyers, more than ever, are watching their budget when buying a new car. The spacious seven-seater Dacia Jogger, with a list price of €23 080, was seen as ‘a lot of car for its price’.

It is fueled with liquified gas (LPG) at an average energy cost of €5,76/100 km, resulting in a €0,40 per km TCO when driven 10.000 km or €0,24 with 20 000 km. Although cheaper in list price (€22 115), the popular Skoda Fabia comes in second with an equal TCO of €0,41 per km at 10 000 km but €0,27 at 20 000 km.

Gasoline, being more expensive than LPG, pushes the energy cost per 100 km to €8,62, proving that fuel prices – apart from being quite volatile – determine primarily what a car costs per kilometer, mainly when used intensively.

Bronze was in this category for the Renault Clio 1.6 E-Tech hybrid, one of the two contending HEVs and the Toyota Yaris, with the highest price tags (€27 200 and €26 250, all options included) in this category. Despite being more economical in fuel consumption than regular gasoline cars, the Clio, for instance, noted a TCO of €0,48 and €0,27 per km, respectively.

LPG still cheapest

A similar story in the category of bigger (ICE) family cars up to €38 000. The LPG-powered X55 1.5 was appreciated by its design, comfort, and extensive equipment for a list price of €35 490. But it scored mainly for a particularly interesting TCO among 13 contenders with a €0,52 cost per km (10 000 km) and €0,30 (20 000 km).

It precedes the Skoda Karoq 1.0 (€37 075), which would cost you €10,38 on fuel for 100 km, resulting in a TCO per km of €0,61 and €0,38. Bronze was here for the Peugeot 408 1.2 (€40 055), which was charming for its self-willed design and handy dashboard.

High initial price and range anxiety

Although the Belgian private car buyer isn’t ready yet to spend a higher budget on an electric car, the number of EVs competing for the VAB title is growing yearly, with 13 contenders this year. Again, the Chinese proved to have a head start with good quality at affordable prices, catching the three first positions.

The gold crown is for the BYD Dolphin, offered at €30 990 in the well-equipped version presented for VAB testing. It has an impressive price/quality and a potent battery securing a range of up to 425 km. That meets perfectly the average private EV buyer today, whose resistance is mainly fed by the initially higher purchase price and range anxiety.

With a km cost of €0,54 (10 000 km) and €0,33 (20 000 km), the reasonably sized Dolphin is already cheaper in TCO than most contenders with a classic combustion engine in the category of up to €38 000. That also goes for the MG4, second in its category with even lower TCO of €0,48 and €0,30, at a list price of €27 285.

Smart #1, the fruit of the cooperation between Chinese Geely and Mercedes-Benz, comes in third despite a higher price (€41 495) and TCO figures of €0,65 and €0,39. Even that is still close to or better than the numbers two and three in the ICE category, the Skoda Karoq and Peugeot 408.