What Car?

What Car?
Name	What Car?
Type	Magazine and digital publisher
Founded	1973
Founder	Edmund King
Country	United Kingdom
Headquarters	London
Language	English

What Car?

What Car? is a British automotive magazine and digital publisher providing vehicle reviews, buying advice, price guides, and consumer-oriented news for car buyers and owners. The brand produces test reports, reliability records, and industry analysis aimed at private purchasers, fleet managers, and automotive enthusiasts. Its output intersects with automotive retail, manufacturing, and regulatory developments across the United Kingdom and international markets.

Overview

What Car? operates as a print magazine and online platform covering passenger cars, light commercial vehicles, electric vehicles, and leasing options. It publishes roundups of new model launches, used-car valuations, and awards for cars across segments. The editorial remit engages with manufacturers, franchised dealers, leasing companies, and motoring organisations in the automotive sector. The publication's coverage often references major motor shows, manufacturer press launches, and regulatory changes in the European Union and United Kingdom.

History

Founded in the early 1970s during a period of expanding consumer media, What Car? grew alongside developments in British motoring culture and the expansion of continental manufacturers into the UK market. Over successive decades it chronicled the rise of Japanese marques, the consolidation of European manufacturers, and the emergence of global conglomerates. The title adapted to digital disruption in the 2000s, expanding its online classifieds and editorial offerings as legacy print media faced changing readership patterns. Its trajectory intersected with corporate acquisitions and consolidations in magazine publishing during the 1990s and 2010s.

Products and Services

What Car? produces regular model reviews, class rankings, and the annual What Car? Car of the Year awards across multiple categories. It supplies used-car price guides and valuations used by private sellers, dealers, and leasing firms. Supplementary services have included buyer’s guides, leasing calculators, and comparison tools that interface with finance providers, warranty partners, and inspection networks. The brand has also run events and award ceremonies that involve manufacturers, dealer groups, and industry stakeholders.

Market Position and Influence

What Car? occupies a position among established UK motoring titles alongside other consumer-oriented publishers and trade outlets. Its awards and recommendations have commercial influence on model sales, dealer stocking decisions, and manufacturer marketing strategies. Industry analysts, fleet managers, and consumer advocacy groups monitor its reliability records and test findings as one input among regulatory data and market intelligence produced by consultancies and research organisations.

Reviews and Testing Methodology

What Car? conducts instrumented tests and editorial evaluations covering performance, economy, emissions, practicality, quality, and ownership costs. Test protocols include road assessments, laboratory fuel-economy measurements, and real-world economy runs that compare models within segments. Reviews typically consider manufacturer specifications, independent crash-test results, and warranty terms, and they reference homologation data and emissions certification processes where relevant. Comparative tests place models from different manufacturers head-to-head to inform buyer recommendations and award deliberations.

Digital Platforms and Community

The brand maintains a website with news, searchable used-car listings, video reviews, and interactive tools for valuation and finance comparison. It engages audiences through social media channels, video platforms, and email newsletters, cultivating communities of prospective buyers, private sellers, and motoring enthusiasts. User-generated content and comments interface with editorial output, while audience metrics and analytics inform content strategy and commercial partnerships with advertisers, OEMs, and retail networks.

Controversies and Criticisms

As with many influential consumer titles, What Car? has faced scrutiny over editorial independence, advertising relationships, and perceived conflicts of interest involving manufacturers, advertisers, and commercial partners. Critics and industry observers have questioned the transparency of sponsored content, award voting processes, and manufacturer access to pre-release vehicles. Debates have also arisen around how mainstream outlets balance enthusiast journalism with mass-market buying guidance amid electrification and changing regulatory regimes.

Category:Automotive magazines Category:British magazines Category:Automotive websites