Now in its 52nd year, Wheels Car of the Year (COTY) is the longest continuously running new car award in the world.
It’s also Australia’s most coveted motoring award. Inaugurated in 1963, it has been withheld on three occasions (’72, ’79 and ’86) and there have been joint winners on four occasions.
Originally designed to encourage Australian manufacturers to build better cars, the award was expanded to include fully-imported vehicles in 1976.
How are the cars compared?
They’re not. To compare an SUV against an economy hatch is unfair. Equally, comparing a hybrid with a sports car doesn’t make sense. That’s why the Wheels Car of the Year compares every eligible car against the five award criteria, which have been refined over half a century.
What are the five criteria?
Function – how well a car does what it is intended to do.
Efficiency – in all aspects. Use of resources both in producing the car and how it works.
Value – both against its rivals and against the wider new car market.
Technology – does it offer a tangible advantage over its rivals?
Safety – We’re talking passive and active. How does it stack up to its rivals and against the key crash test regulators?
How are they tested?
By a panel of Australia’s most respected motoring journalists who, combined, have more than 150 years of industry experience. COTY takes place over seven days of exhaustive testing, with more than 7500km driven.
The entire field starts at a closed, purpose-built facility (this year was Ford’s You Yangs proving ground), before the field is culled for Round Two: the real world. Here, those deemed worthy spend four days on the road where the judges assess their real world performance. That means car parks, speed humps, school zones, hill starts, traffic lights, as well as urban streets and flowing rural roads.
IT’S THE Aussie motoring media’s night of nights, but what really happens at a Wheels COTY reveal?
Come behind the scenes as we present the award, greet special guests like Australian cricket legend Max ‘Tangles’ Walker and say farewell to the venerable Peter Robinson who after 43 years as a COTY judge, has decided to retire.
The February 2015 issue of Wheels is your Car of the Year edition and explains how, why, and what the judges and cars went through before the winner was voted.
As well as the 52nd annual COTY, there’s the fire-and-brimstone of the Ford Mustang arm-wrestling the Chevrolet Camaro – could this been the new battleground between Holden and Ford, with the Camaro tipped for Aussie showrooms?
We reveal Chrysler’s Aussie V8 plan, the long-awaited return of the Mazda range and tilt the Mercedes-AMG GT into Laguna Seca’s daunting corkscrew to see if its new sports car is a genuine Porsche 911 rival.
We drive the new Mazda CX-3 crossover and the VW Polo GTI – with a manual gearbox at last!
WHAT IS IT?
A very minor facelift, with no sheetmetal changes, just lights, grille, mirrors, wheels and sundry exterior trim. Inside, however, the entire bottom half of the dashboard has been redesigned, an electric park brake appears for the first time in a Mazda, and fresh materials abound. Best of all, though, significant noise-reduction actions have been taken.
WHY WE’RE TESTING IT
Mazda’s popular CX-5 currently rules the medium SUV segment, and it’s not hard to see why. Attractive styling, efficient drivetrains, a great chassis and the company’s enviable reputation for quality and reliability are plus points, but too much road noise, a bland dash, some spec shortfalls and too much road noise have taken off the shine of late.
MAIN RIVALS
Ford Kuga, Subaru Forester, Nissan X-Trail, Hyundai ix35, Kia Sportage, Mitsubishi Outlander, Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4, Holden Captiva 5, Jeep Cherokee, VW Tiguan
THE WHEELS VERDICT
Small price drops, a rise in driver-aid tech (albeit in flagship Akera guise only) and a better-looking nose treatment are the headline changes, but the real advance is in the somewhat quieter rear-seat area, suppler ride quality on the smaller-wheeled versions, nifty Sport mode in petrol autos, and improved multimedia system. Some spec shortfalls remain, however.
PLUS: Dynamics; performance; efficiency; quality; quieter cabin; dash improvements MINUS: Still noisy over coarse bitumen; firm ride on 19s; drab rear cabin; no digital speedo or rear vents
THE WHEELS REVIEW
IN THE late 2020s, P-platers will be driving today’s Mazda CX-5 in droves. With nearly 60,000 sold in three years, Australia’s most popular SUV will be a key future-generation automotive rites-of-passage choice. Just like the Commodore, Pulsar and Laser before it. Probably.
Handsome styling has played a massive part in the Mazda’s success, so the MY15 exterior changes are essentially confined to a new grille and lights.
Inside, however, the lower dash has been redesigned with a BMW iDrive-style controller for the upgraded multimedia system sited next to a now-electric park brake, and more storage. The interior is also enhanced with a larger central touchscreen, more supportive front seat cushions, and classier materials. The Akera flagship gains radar cruise control, adaptive LED headlights, lane-change assist and other high-tech driver aids. And prices drop $700 or more, thanks to Australia’s free trade agreement with Japan.
Espousing Mazda’s excellent SkyActiv modular platform components, there was no need to mess with the oily bits, so the smooth and punchy 2.5-litre atmo petrol Maxx Sport (the volume seller) feels as strong as ever. And now it benefits from a Sport auto setting that holds on to ratios a little longer, though it will eventually change up a gear after three seconds at the redline in manual mode.
Similarly, the 129kW/420Nm 2.2-litre four-pot turbo-diesel continues to compel with terrifically refined mid-range pull, making it a deceptively speedy yet stealthy tourer. Sadly, we missed out on driving the base Maxx 2.0-litre front-drive version at the launch.
Both AWD variants preserve the CX-5’s sweet steering and sharp handling status quo that allows the keen driver to maintain a line through fast corners, despite changes to the dampers and bushes developed to take the edge off the ride.
Road noise was the fly in the ointment with the outgoing model, but new sound-deadening and noise-quelling measures including thicker side glass means there’s not as much drone, though it’s still evident. Certainly the rear row is quieter, a win backed up by an appreciably suppler ride quality. Too bad the suspension is still too stiff on CX-5s fitted with 19s.
Let’s call it a work in progress because these shortfalls – as well as a drab second row (it’s so monotonously plasticky, with no rear-seat face-level air vents) and some spec shortfalls (you won’t find a digital speedo or front passenger seat-height adjuster in the $37K Maxx Sport) – still need attention.
2015 MAZDA CX-5 SPECS
Model: Mazda CX-5 Sport Maxx Engine: 2488cc 4cyl, dohc, 16v Max power: 138kW @ 5700rpm Max torque: 250Nm @ 4000rpm Transmission: 6-speed automatic Weight: 1572kg 0-100km/h: 9.3sec Fuel economy: 7.4L/100km Price: $35,790 On sale: February 1
IT’D BE wrong to label the COTY judging process as tough. Brutal, is a more accurate description. Merciless and ruthless are even better.
Sat before me in the shadowy gloom at Ford’s You Yang’s proving grounds, the seven COTY judges have just finished tallying the votes for the first round of judging, which has decimated the field.
Of the 21 models eligible for the gong, only five have survived the past three days, which has seen every car tested pitilessly at You Yang’s purpose built facility; a sprawling, 2300-acre torture chamber of high-speed circuits, pockmarked roads and skidpans.
Every variant has been driven relentlessly over the same pieces of tarmac before being critiqued and rated, not against each other, but the five enshrined COTY criteria: function, technology, efficiency, safety and value.
It’s a simple, if clinical, process, and this year, it’s thrown up a top five that’s as interesting as it is diverse. Headlining the group are the BMW i3 and Tesla Model S, which thanks to their intoxicating blend of technology, efficiency and performance are gunning to become the first ever electric cars to win Wheels COTY. Mazda’s overhauled 2, Merc’s C Class and Peugeot’s 308 also earned nods of approval, but where they triumphed during Round One, things could change during Round Two: the real world.
Leaving You Yangs behind for the picturesque hills of Victoria’s Gippsland region, ahead of us lies three days of real world testing where the judges will become even more intimate with the finalists on public roads. That means speed humps, traffic lights, parallel parks, school zones and open country roads.
Flaws will be exposed and strengths lauded before another round of judging, this time in barren, wood-panelled board room at the Leongatha Motel, will cull the field again to reveal the top three finalists.
This is when things get really serious. The judges cram into the cars for a day of four-up testing, with the whole process overshadowed by the pressure of expectation. Remember, Wheels COTY awards just one winner – there are no encouragement awards here – with every judge desperate to know the victor. Cruelly, though, this is the one piece of information denied to them. After seven gruelling days of testing, and a final round of voting, Wheels tradition dictates that only one person tallies the votes and knows the result: the editor.
It’s a hollow and anticlimactic way to end such an intense week, but it means every judge is just as eager to discover what wins as you are.
With BMW’s i3, the switching hour has struck. This innovative and compact electric car combines expressive design, impressive engineering, exceptional efficiency and persuasive practicality with a good deal of driver appeal.
Both admirable and desirable, the i3 is the car that signals, loud and clear, electric propulsion’s readiness for the road ahead.
For its far-sighted clarity of vision and unswerving execution, the i3 is Wheels Car of the Year 2014. It is the first electric car and the first BMW ever to win our award.
Efficiency is the obvious strong suit of the i3. Its underfloor lithium-ion battery pack stores the electric equivalent of just two litres of unleaded, but it’s enough to endow the i3 with a 100km-plus pure electric driving range. Easily more than the 40km the average Australian drives every day.
When recharged using renewable energy – and it’s hard to imagine anyone who buys an i3 wanting to use anything else – this urban warrior delivers practically emission-free mobility.
Range anxiety, however, remains an electric car reality. BMW offers a cure for the condition. The Range Extender version adds immensely to the BMW’s flexibility. It brings the freedom to make unplanned trips as well as longer journeys.
The i3 doesn’t only shine in comparison with fossil fuel power. It’s also more efficient than other electric cars.
Unlike previous electric cars, the i3 is not slow. Neither does it need to be driven gingerly. It accelerates smoothly and silently to 100km/h in 7.2 seconds. The vivid initial thrust makes it seem, if anything, faster than these figures suggest.
It also contributes to a real sense of driver involvement.
The i3 is a genuinely agile car, with sharp steering and, thanks to its rear-drive/rear-motor layout, a super-tight sub-10-metre turning circle. These attributes, along with the instant urge of its electric motor, make the i3 a very adept city car.
Don’t be fooled by the skinny tyres, specifically chosen to reduce the BMW’s aerodynamic frontal area; the i3 doesn’t lack for grip, and is unmistakably a well-balanced car.
Inside, the i3 emphasises its difference from the rest. This is a properly premium environment, a successful mix of eco and electronic.
There’s a genuine sense of spaciousness up front, and driver vision is exceptional.
The BMW’s overlapping ‘coach’ doors provide a wide opening to access the pair of adult-size rear seats.
Questions have been raised about the i3’s four-star EuroNCAP status. There’s no question, however, that the BMW i3 does a good job of protecting its occupants in a crash. And this is the central requirement of the Wheels COTY Safety criterion.
While not compelling on pure value for money, the i3’s cutting edge technology goes a long way towards justifying its price.
The i3 also scores strongly against Safety and Function, and shines super-nova bright against Efficiency and Technology.
Crucially, it’s also an involving drive and well adapted to its city streets role, admirably satisfying our Function criterion.
The i3 is a car both courageous and convincing.
Other brands surely possess the know-how to have created something equally visionary. BMW had the bravery.
It’s been a long time coming, but Munich has well and truly earned its first Wheels Car of the Year award with the BMW i3.
Until now, pure electric cars have been curios. Exciting and quirky forerunners of our post- internal combustion future, compromised in execution and priced well beyond their consumer value.
Not anymore. The BMW i3 is a $60,000 hatchback, yes. But it justifies that price better than any electric car to date. It delivers what a prestige hatchback should in equipment, cachet and performance.
And it delivers zero fuel consumption and zero emission driving.
The Mazda 2 may seem an utterly conventional city hatchback. But it’s an astonishingly complete execution of convention. It proves you don’t need a big price tag or a premium badge to expect advanced engineering and dynamic excellence.
There are no turbos in its small-capacity four-cylinder engine line-up, yet the SkyActiv Four pulls willingly, wonderfully from revs that would have other aspirated fours coughing and spluttering.
The cabin is a class above its current rivals – mature, yet characterful, and possessed of a premium aura well beyond its pay grade.
It’s clear Mazda invested considerable time and money in making the cabin a desirable and rewarding place to be.
Dynamics continue to be a Mazda strength. The Mazda2’s agility and zest delighted the judges – and tantalises us with its potential for a sportier MPS version.
Against COTY’s Value criterion, the cheapest of the COTY finalists did very well. Not because it is the cheapest, but because of how much useful, practical tech Mazda packs in for the price.
If the Mazda2 wins, it will be the Hiroshima brand’s seventh COTY victory.
Meet the bookies’ favourite: The Mercedes-Benz C-class.
The public shares that favouritism, based on a social media poll we ran over Christmas. Fully one-third of respondents believe the Benz will add Wheels Car of the Year to its plethora of local and international awards.
The C-class’s pedigree is beyond question – its predecessor took out COTY in 2007. But pedigree is not one of our five COTY criteria, so this new model must stand on its own merit.
The C-class’s new MRA architecture delivers a lighter and stronger structure. On which sits a more aerodynamic, more aluminium-intensive body. The cabin is more spacious, and on first impressions is of a vastly better design and materials quality than its forebear – even at the entry level.
There is so much to be admired about the C-class, not least its competence on the move. It steers and handles with a lithe, flowing solidity. It is quiet. Each of its four engines are impressively robust and economical. The new C eats the kilometres with effortless composure.
Click here to read the full range review of the Mercedes-Benz C-Class.
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Hard to believe the world’s second oldest car company has never won Wheels Car of the Year. But it’s fair to say as strong as French cars were in the 20th century, there’s been a certain – Je Ne Sais Quoi – missing since then.
Not anymore. If the 208 launched in 2012 was an entrée to Peugeot’s return to classic French fare, the 308 is the hugely satisfying plat principal.
The new 308’s lightweight modular architecture brings a palpable increase in quality and a wellspring of fresh technology which confirms Peugeot’s status as a credible manufacturer of family hatchbacks.
Its 1090kg kerb weight is 140kg lighter than the outgoing model, and makes the 308 the lightest in its class. That’s commendable, but the benefits this weight reduction brings to performance and economy are tangible. And bankable.
The new 308 also has more practical interior space in both hatch and wagon guise than its predecessor. And where Peugeot was prone to gauche displays of Vive la Difference in their cabins in recent years, the new 308 takes a more conservative, upmarket approach – as it must if it is to win buyers from its main rival, last year’s Car of the Year winner, the Volkswagen Golf.
Judges found plenty to like about PSA’s new PureTech petrol engine family. The smallest member of this new family, the characterful and flexible 1.2-litre turbo triple earned judges deep admiration.
Overall, the 308 from the base model up, signifies a return to great riding Peugeots and brings the dynamic sophistication we expect, and was lacking for so long.
And, with a price range kicking off $4000 below the car it replaces, despite a hefty increase in equipment and technology, the Peugeot 308 mounts an strong case for Car of the Year.
