2025-26 Wheels Car of the Year Contender: Subaru Forester
Subaru’s Forester hybrid keeps its trademark all-wheel-drive composure and everyday comfort, delivering balance in a segment crowded with flashier, less capable mid-size SUVs.
2025-26 Wheels Car of the Year Contender: Polestar 4 Long Range Single Motor
Swedish minimalism in an electric future – while Polestar aims to rewrite the rule book with its left-field Polestar 4, it wasn’t enough to progress in this year’s award.
2025-26 Wheels Car of the Year Contender: Nissan Ariya
Nissan’s long-delayed Ariya EV promised range, space and style, but lacklustre performance, dated design and average refinement saw it quickly ruled out in COTY testing.
2025-26 Wheels Car of the Year Contender: Mazda CX-60 G40E GT
Can an SUV really deliver the ‘Zoom Zoom’ by which Mazda defines itself?
2025-26 Wheels Car of the Year Contender: Isuzu MU-X
Isuzu’s MU-X SUV delivers rugged, old-school diesel durability and true go-anywhere ability, but its agricultural manners and dated refinement make it feel trapped in another era.
2025-26 Wheels Car of the Year Contender: Hyundai Inster
Hyundai’s pint-sized Inster EV delivers charm, solid engineering and urban range, but faces fierce price competition from cheaper Chinese rivals in Australia’s fast-moving electric city-car market.
2025-26 Wheels Car of the Year Contender: GWM Haval H6 Ultra Hi4 AWD
GWM’s mid-sized hybrid blends huge power, sharp value and family practicality, but its firm ride and hefty weight temper an otherwise standout performance SUV.
2025-26 Wheels Car of the Year Contender: Chery Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid Urban
Chery’s Tiggo 7 plug-in hybrid surprises with strong performance, long electric range and generous safety kit, though its firm ride reminds you it’s built to a price.
2025-26 Wheels Car of the Year Contender: BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe
BMW’s 2 Series Gran Coupe delivers comfort, polish and familiar driving pleasure, but its somewhat conventional approach failed to truly excite the judges.
2025-26 Wheels Car of the Year Contender: Alfa Romeo Junior Ibrida
Alfa Romeo’s new Junior hybrid SUV trades the brand’s famous flair for economy and practicality – but left our judges unimpressed by its modest performance and lack of emotional spark.
2025-26 Wheels Car of the Year finalists, 3RD: Toyota GR Corolla
Toyota’s GR Corolla hogged both keys and tyres at COTY, blending rally-bred pace with daily-driver polish, proving Gazoo Racing’s magic lives on in 2025.
2025-26 Wheels Car of the Year finalists, 2ND: MG HS Hybrid+ Essence
MG’s new HS Hybrid delivers unexpected polish, combining refined handling, smooth hybrid performance and impressive value to stand out in Australia’s crowded mid-size SUV field.
2025-26 Wheels Car of the Year WINNER: Honda Civic E:HEV L
It’s back to the future for this year’s winner, not just an excellent Honda, but an exceptional car all round.
Modern Classic: Jaguar XJ220 – underrated or misunderstood?
The world’s most underrated supercar or a case study in confused development? The truth, as always, is a little more nuanced
Popular hatchbacks comparo: Hyundai i30, Mazda3 and Toyota Corolla face off
What’s the best hatchback you can buy on a $40k budget? It’s a simple question. The answer? That’s not quite so straightforward.
Modern Classic: Volvo 850 T-5R
It’s the estate car that went a long way to starting the reinvention of Volvo for the contemporary era.
Ford Mustang Dark Horse's mission: Sydney to Hobart in 24 hours
Could you get from Sydney to Australia’s southernmost capital city in 24 hours? It’s not as easy as it looks given that 10 of those hours are on board a ferry. We try it with Ford’s muscle car of the moment, the Mustang Dark Horse.
People movers comparo: Wheels’ ultimate battle between five big MPVS
The big multi-purpose vehicle (MPV), or people mover, has evolved but what does the new pecking order look like?
Modern Classic: Porsche 968 Club Sport
How Porsche’s transaxle four signed out on a heroic high.
The Wheels Interview: Peter Hughes, former Holden designer, on the brand's golden years
Designer Peter Hughes reminisces about his work and colleagues during his ‘fortunate’ career working for Holden in its most productive years.
Modern Classic: Tickford TS50, the legendary HSV rival that never quite got into top gear
Tickford’s 5.6-litre big bangers couldn’t resurrect the AU Falcon’s reputation back in the day, but time has smiled on these hand-crafted specials.
The Wheels Interview: Robert Logan, the former Navy officer building a new crop of Ford GT40s
From beginnings in Belfast to a career in the British navy and a new start in Australia, Robert Logan has found his true calling – indulging his passion for Ford GT40s.
Wheels Best Dual-Cab Ute 2025 Overall Winner: Ford Ranger
As the old saying goes, 'if you come at the king'... and while there were plenty of strong contenders, one still stands above the rest when it comes to dual-cab utes on the Australian market...
Hybrid face-off: Which of four best-selling hybrid cars triumphs when put head-to-head?
The hybrid wars are heating up as Australians gently cool on electric cars. We drive four of today’s most intriguing, fuel-sipping systems – but only one leaves us besotted.
