Car of the Year: Australia’s best new car revealed

News Corp Australia has crowned the best new car of the year after an eight week testing process whittled 21 cars down to one.

Toyota’s RAV4 Hybrid is News Corp’s Car of the Year.

The petrol-electric family SUV, which has been a huge sales hit since its launch in May, beat a quality field of finalists selected from dozens of new models launched in 2019.

News Corp Australia motoring editor Richard Blackburn says the RAV4 Hybrid “could become a watershed car for the industry”.

The Toyota RAV4 Hybrid has been crowned the 2019 News Corp Car of the Year.

“It’s the first SUV to offer hybrid tech at an affordable price,” Blackburn says.

“It’s guilt-free family motoring — saving the planet without breaking the bank.”

The RAV4 triumphed after an exhaustive eight-week testing process, in which the best three cars in seven categories were pitted against each other to come up with the finalists.

Mogo Car of the Year logo

Three SUVs, a sedan, a hatchback, a sports car and a ute greeted judges for the final testing, held over two days.

Judges assessed the cars against several criteria: value for money, performance, design, technology and safety.

The final three included the RAV4 Hybrid, Toyota Supra and BMW 330i.

Three cars made it through to the second day of testing: the RAV4 was joined by BMW’s new 330i sedan and the Supra sports car, jointly developed by BMW and Toyota.

Voting was tight but the RAV4 prevailed thanks to its value for money, fuel efficiency, practicality and low ownership costs.

Day one of testing started with a walkaround of each car, with judges poring over price lists and spec sheets, peering into boots and clambering into rear seats to check legroom.

All seven cars were worthy of accolades.

The Mazda3 was an early favourite, having seen off rivals such as the Volkswagen Golf, Ford Focus and Audi A1 this year. Praised for best-in-class safety kit, suave looks and engaging dynamics, the Mazda3’s wheezy engine and compromised rear seat cost the hatch a chance at the podium.

Seven category winners made the finals: (clockwise from front left) Toyota RAV4 Hybrid, Volkswagen Touareg, Kia Seltos, Mitsubishi Triton, BMW 330i, Toyota Supra and Mazda3.

Kia’s Seltos Sport+ was also something of a dark horse. The brand’s first baby SUV is a bright spot in an already impressive range, though we felt it was expensive at $36,490 drive-away and didn’t handle as well as the top contenders.

The Volkswagen Touareg shone against premium competition in Launch Edition form but a cheaper version tested here didn’t fare as well without the premium car’s air suspension, lacking polish on country roads.

The BMW 330i came in second as it was praised for its superb driving dynamics.

Similarly, Mitsubishi’s Triton will serve you well for years but back-to-back testing with conventional cars highlighted how inherently compromised pick-ups are for day-to-day driving. It’s the best new ute in 2019 but certainly isn’t the Car of the Year.

Toyota’s Supra delivers driving thrills and concept car styling for a relatively affordable price.

Queensland judge Grant Edwards felt the Supra was “brilliance personified — it’s everything you want from a sports car”.

The new Toyota Supra won over the judges for delivering thrills usually reserved for much more expensive machines.

We’ve tested the Supra on road, track, and slippery skid pans designed to highlight a car’s weaknesses. It’s the complete package, one that makes the impressive new Porsche 911 look expensive.

Toyota’s five-year warranty (rare in sports cars) and a stonking BMW-built engine won fans.

But a lack of cabin storage, ANCAP safety rating or customer availability (the Supra is sold out for now) curtailed its run.

Mazda’s 2.0-litre engine is slightly underdone but it a great car to steer and looks the part.

Our seven-strong team found it hard to split the RAV4 and 3 Series.

The 330i is everything an executive sports sedan should be — attractive, well-equipped, and packed with tech.

Sedans are no longer the car of choice for Aussie families but the BMW is a brilliant counterpoint to top-heavy SUVs and hugely compromised high-end utes rarely pressed into work duties.

It’s brilliant to drive, keying into the tarmac with poise to rival sports cars. A list price of $70,900 plus on-road costs feels like good value in its luxury segment, though our test car’s sticker was closer to $90,000 on the road, making it harder to justify in strong company.

Its three-year warranty, premium price and increasingly questionable relevance relegated the BMW to second place.

The Kia Seltos was a dark horse that benefitted from having everything but the kitchen sink included as standard.

None of that applies to the RAV4 Hybrid, which starts at $35,140 plus on-roads. We tested it in front-wheel drive GXL grade, priced from $38,140 plus on-roads, or about $42,500 drive-away.

Toyota’s HiLux is the best-selling vehicle in Australia today but you could argue the RAV4 Hybrid is the most relevant on sale.

Part of that comes from a generously proportioned and family friendly SUV body, the style preferred by the majority of motorists.

But its hybrid drive, with 2.5-litre petrol engine and electric motor, is a more significant achievement.

The cheaper version of the Touareg wasn’t as pleasant to drive as the Launch Edition.

Regenerative braking — storing energy in the car’s battery every time you use the brakes — makes it more efficient in traffic than on the open road.

Urban customers can expect to use about 5L/100km of fuel when commuting. Smaller, less practical and powerful SUVs will double that in the city.

Hybrids may not be at the cutting edge of the electric vehicle revolution but the tech reduces fuel consumption to an extraordinary degree without owners having to plug them into the electricity grid, or fretting about range anxiety.

The Triton is gruff to drive unladen, but it is affordable and has best in class safety.

Previous testing of new electric cars such as the Nissan Leaf, Tesla Model 3 and Jaguar I-Pace illustrated that EVs can’t match conventional vehicles for value for money and practical range.

As such their sales — and impact on the environment — are limited.

Our judges felt Toyota selling 50,000 hybrids a year will do more to reduce the nation’s carbon footprint than niche electric cars, which sell in the hundreds.

The National Transport Commission estimates if Australians bought vehicles with best-in-class CO2 emissions, it would halve the national average for new vehicles.

And it’s not hard for RAV4 customers to choose a hybrid — the premium is just $2500 on front-drive versions such as the GXL tested here.

The judges poured over every aspect of the seven finalists to determine a winner.

It has spritely acceleration with 160kW of combined power and its claimed thirst is 4.7L/100km. It’s also composed on the road, with well-sorted suspension and quiet highway manners.

Its spacious cabin caters for passengers with four USB ports, wireless charging, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, rear air vents and strong safety credentials.

Cheap to service, the RAV4 also benefits from a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty and strong resale potential — Australian buyers have voted with their wallets, as evidenced by long waiting lists for the new model.

Our judges agree.

Iain Curry reckons the Toyota is the ideal modern family SUV and Bill McKinnon hails it as “the easiest and most convenient entry to the world of green motoring”.

“The BMW is a return to form,” Craig Duff says. “But Toyota moves the game on.”

The criteria

Value for money

Pricing, equipment, running costs, capped servicing, warranty, service intervals, resale and material quality.

Performance

How the car accelerates, stops, shifts gears, corners and soaks up bumps. Also refinement and fuel efficiency.

Design

Leg and headroom, ergonomics, comfort and vision.

Technology

Connectivity, ease of navigating screens etc.

Safety

Physical crash rating and active safety aids.

Previous winners

2018 Hyundai i30 N

2017 Skoda Kodiaq

2016 Volkswagen Tiguan

2015 Kia Sorento

2014 Mercedes-Benz C-Class

2013 Volkswagen Golf

2012 Subaru BRZ/Toyota 86

2011 Kia Rio

2010 Volkswagen Polo

2009 Volkswagen Golf

2008 Ford Falcon

2007 Hyundai i30

2006 Holden Calais

2005 Suzuki Swift

2004 Ford Territory

2003 Honda Accord Euro

2002 Ford Falcon

2001 Holden Monaro

2000 Mercedes-Benz C-Class

1999 Toyota Echo

1998 Holden Astra

1997 Holden Commodore

People’s choice

The people have spoken and backed our judges’ decision to award Car of the Year to the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid.

The Toyota narrowly out-polled the Mazda 3 and the Mitsubishi Triton in our people’s choice awards, attracting 18 per cent of the vote to 17 per cent for the Triton and 16 per cent for the Mazda.

The RAV4 is also winning the popularity contest in the real world. Since its launch in May it has been the No.1 selling SUV in the country, overtaking perennial favourite the Mazda CX-5.

Sales last month were up 20 per cent in a new-car market that dipped by 10 per cent.