Britain's Best Driver's Car 2020: Meet the contenders

In the event, the grim October weather had more than a frisson of foreboding about it; as if we’d angered the fates by even contemplating it. Nevertheless, we did. The greatest driver’s cars of the year have just had their pockets emptied for your reading pleasure.

We’ve slithered and splashed our way around Exmoor and Wiltshire, in supercars, sports cars, track cars and hot hatchbacks, because who’d let a bit of rain prevent that?

Usually we have separate Best Driver’s Car and Best Affordable Driver’s Car tests. This year, for practical reasons peculiar to our present times, we’ve run both starting grids together into one big package. What you’re about to read is what resulted from a couple of days driving our more affordable contestants amid the misty fields of Exmoor – followed by a couple more driving our pricier runners and riders on a sodden Castle Combe circuit and nearby roads. You can read the full story using the links below.

Britain's best driver's car: the main event | Cheap thrills: Britain's best affordable driver's car

Shortly, therefore, we will name two champions. And yet, still, there can only be one outright winner.

The Atom is our returning champion, having earned top honours at last year's Best Driver's Car contest. Though not strictly the fourth iteration of the British-built lightweight, it is almost all-new, with only the pedals and fuel-filler cap have been retained from the Atom 3.5.

Power now comes from the turbocharged K20C 2.0-litre four-cylinder i-VTEC engine found in the current Honda Civic Type R (more on that later), with 316bhp and 310lb ft to propel a kerb weight of just 595kg.

It remains every bit the world’s fastest piece of mobile scaffolding, but the cold and wet roads of Wiltshire and Castle Combe circuit should prove far more challenging than the smooth dry Tarmac seen at Anglesey last year.

Price £39,975 Engine 4 cyls in line, 1996cc, turbocharged, petrol Power 316bhp at 6500rpm Torque 310lb ft at 3000rpm Gearbox 6-spd manual Kerb weight 595kg 0-62mph 2.8sec Top speed 162mph

The convertible Aston is not, perhaps, the most natural fit among this field of lightened, tightened and very serious performance cars.

But it is new for 2020, equipped with the fabulously torque-rich and explosively loud 4.0-litre AMG V8 and possesses the kind of rear-driven chassis balance that should make it, if not the quickest, then among the most entertaining cars here. Don't expect those fat rear tyres to last long. 

Price £126,950 Engine V8, 3982cc, twin-turbocharged, petrol Power 503bhp at 6000rpm Torque 505lb ft at 2000-5000rpm Gearbox 8-spd automatic Kerb weight 1628kg 0-62mph 3.8sec Top speed 190mph

The M2 CS was narrowly beaten in its group test debut earlier this year, but has been sufficiently favoured by testers before and since to make the BBDC grid.

A high-revving, front-mounted turbo straight six putting 444bhp through a 'cup'-shot rear axle ought to be pretty spectacular on track, and the M2's size should be an asset on the road. But can it compete with the supercars for driver appeal?

Price £39,975 Engine 6 cyls in line, 2979cc, twin-turbocharged, petrol Power 444bhp at 6250rpm Torque 407lb ft at 2350-5500rpm Gearbox 7-spd dual-clutch automatic Kerb weight 1550kg 0-62mph 4.0sec Top speed 174mph

The F8 Tributo has more power and less weight than the 488 GTB; and the latter was our 2015 champion.

The Tributo starts 'BBDC20' as one of the favourites for the big prize, then, although it'll have plenty of mid-engined opposition. Blistering pace and pin-sharp, balanced handling ought to make it stand out.

Price £203,476 Engine V8, 3902cc, twin-turbocharged, petrol Power 710bhp at 8000rpm Torque 568lb ft at 3250rpm Gearbox 7-spd dual-clutch automatic Kerb weight 1435kg 0-62mph 2.9sec Top speed 211mph

This is the second Handling Day outing for the Lamborghini Huracan, following a rather lacklustre appearance in last year’s line-up. But where that car was the four-wheel-drive Evo model, this one is the purist’s choice: the Evo RWD.

Its mid-mounted, normally-aspirated V10 might be slightly down on power compared with last year’s all-paw car, but 602bhp at 8000rpm and 413lb ft at 6500rpm should be more than enough to keep things very exciting indeed.

Crucially, however, it loses the front-driven axle and often counter-intuitive rear-wheel steering of its 4WD stablemate. It’s a sharper, lighter and more focussed Huracan for sure, but will it cope with a sodden Castle Combe circuit and rain-swept Wiltshire B-roads?

Price £164,400 Engine V10, 5204cc, petrol Power 602bhp at 8000rpm Torque 413lb ft at 6500rpm Gearbox 7-spd dual-clutch automatic Dry weight 1389kg 0-62mph 3.3sec Top speed 202mph

McLaren has form where our BBDC shootout is concerned: back in 2018 the 600LT fended off competition from the likes of the Ferrari 488 Pista and Alpine A110 to take the crown. Now, it’s bigger, meaner and more expensive brother will attempt a similar feat.

The 765LT is a more track-ready version of the phenomenally good 720S supercar. Its twin-turbocharged V8 has been hiked to 755bhp and 590lb ft, giving it the highest power output of any car here, and its chassis has been sharpened significantly. Those aerodynamic body tweaks aren’t for show, either, and its hydraulically-assisted steering rack is the best in the business in terms of response and feel.

It’s tyres need a fair bit of heat to provide the best grip, and the rain that continually lashed down for the duration of our three-day test made that a bit tricky. Otherwise, it has all the right ingredients to be a seriously competitive contender.

Price £164,400 Engine V8, 3994cc, twin-turbocharged, petrol Power 755bhp at 7500rpm Torque 590lb ft at 5500rpm Gearbox 7-spd dual-clutch automatic Kerb weight 1339kg 0-62mph 2.8sec Top speed 205mph

Porsche’s formidable 911 Turbo S has been labelled the ‘fastest car in the real world’ on more than one occasion. Now, we’ll see if its sheer all-weather speed and immense cross-country capability is enough for this latest 992-generation model to walk away with this year’s BBDC crown.

Incredible four-wheel traction, rear-wheel steering and a fantastically communicative steering rack should all play to its favour on wet and slippery road and track surfaces. A thumping 641bhp twin-turbocharged flat-six engine won’t hurt its chances either.

Will it prove an immersive and engaging driver’s car, or will its unflappable capabilities leave our testers feeling a bit cold? Time to find out.

Price £126,950 Engine 6 cyls horizontally opposed, 3745cc, twin-turbocharged, petrol Power 641bhp at 6750rpm Torque 590lb ft at 2500-4000rpm Gearbox 8-spd dual-clutch automatic Kerb weight 1640kg 0-62mph 2.6sec Top speed 205mph

Porsche’s ludicrously quick Taycan Turbo S is the first electric car that’s taken part in our annual BBDC shootout. How times change.

Whatever your position on electric cars might be, the significance of a five-star score in the gruelling Autocar road test is impossible to deny. And despite its immense weight, it has established itself as a highly credible driver’s car in its own right - not just by the standard’s of today’s EVs.

Now, we’ll find out how this 751bhp, 793lb ft monster fares when compared directly with the best sports cars and supercars from the old world - howling V10s, thundering V8s and all. Massive acceleration, all-wheel traction and impossibly precise throttle response should play to its favour in these terrible conditions.

Price £138,826 Engine Two AC synchronous electric motors Power 751bhp Torque 793lb ft Gearbox 1-spd/2-spd automatic Kerb weight 2305kg 0-62mph 2.6sec Top speed 161mph (governed)

Our annual search for best driver's car begins at the affordable end of the price spectrum - but only one of this year's four sub£40k entries can make it through to the main event.

It's something of a hot hatch special this year, with all eyes on the Toyota GR Yaris - but it would be a fool's game to write off the regular favourite, Volkswagen's Golf GTI.

Whether you're the most recent mid-engined marvel to exit Maranello or another supremely fun hot-hatch, the Fiesta ST is the rival you write off at your peril. It's why we have one at BBDC, though this isn't any normal Fiesta ST, having been tweaked by Ford specialist Mountune.

That means there's more power to help it keep up with the big boys – and, of course, more potential to play with that fabulously adjustable chassis.

Price £22,570 Engine 3 cyls in line, 1497cc, turbocharged, petrol Power 232bhp at 5550rpm Torque 258lb ft at 3500rpm Gearbox 6-spd manual Kerb weight 1262kg 0-62mph 6.0sec Top speed 150mph (est)

Careful of those retinas. Introducing the most extreme iteration of the leanest – and indeed meanest – senior hot-hatch currently on sale.

This is Honda arguably at its best: shorn of some weight, equipped with more feelsome and grippy tyres than the standard car, and with some chassis tweaks to elevate the responsiveness of the car. However, this year BBDC is held in November, and so could the Limited's unreserved focus end up hampering it?  

Price £39,995 Engine 4 cyls in line, 1996cc, turbocharged, petrol Power 316bhp at 6500rpm Torque 295lb ft at 2500-4500rpm Gearbox 6-spd manual Kerb weight 1405kg 0-62mph 5.8sec Top speed 169mph

Its glowing reception precedes it, and makes it a shorter-odds bet for the our Best Affordable Driver's Car crown than any Toyota since the GT86.

Will have a couple of days on Exmoor roads, as well as the slippery kerbs of Castle Combe, to prove itself; and thanks to those clever Torsen diffs and four-wheel drive, should be well-configured to do it. Mad homologation looks and rally-ready dynamic DNA should do the GR Yaris no harm either.

Price £33,495 Engine 3 cyls in line, 1618cc, turbocharged, petrol Power 257bhp at 6500rpm Torque 266lb ft at 3000-4600rpm Gearbox 6-spd manual Kerb weight 1310kg 0-62mph 5.5sec Top speed 143mph (governed)

It hasn't been as well-received as previous-generation Golf GTIs; but also hasn't yet been given a circuit, or such a wide spread of opponents, to prove itself on and against. This is the mk8's get-out-of-jail-free card, then.

After the Fiesta, it's the least powerful member of our field but also one of the more affordable; and it ought to be one of the most usable, and better-suited to bad conditions, and enjoyable on any given day of the year.

Price £33,460 Engine 4 cyls in line, 1984cc, turbocharged, petrol Power 242bhp at 4700rpm Torque 258lb ft at 1600-4300rpm Gearbox 6-spd manual Kerb weight 1448kg 0-62mph 6.3sec Top speed 155mph