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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.
Wheels Car of the Year: Every winner since 1963
Ahead of the announcement of the 2025-26 Wheels Car of the Year on Monday, December 15, a look back at the honour roll for Australia’s most prestigious and longest running annual motoring award (some of the cars in this year’s field, pictured).
Robbo’s Notebook: Wheels Car of the Year 2024-25
We asked Peter Robinson for his notes on the ten most intriguing cars at Wheels Car of the Year 2024-25.
Wheels COTY 2024-25 Winner: HYUNDAI IONIQ 5 N
All hail the unanimous winner of Wheels Car of the Year 2024-25, the truly innovative Hyundai IONIQ 5 N – a spectacularly well-realised performance EV destined to put a smile on the face of anyone who gets in one.
2024-25 Wheels Car of the Year Contender: SKODA ENYAQ SPORTLINE RWD
An intriguing concept with some flaws in execution.
Wheels COTY 2024-25: Top Six
After a gruelling testing regime at Lang Lang Proving Ground in Victoria, 25 contenders were whittled down to the final six reviewed here.
2024-25 Wheels Car of the Year Contender: HONDA CR-V VTI-L
There is something resolutely old-school in a good way about the CR-V. It feels solidly engineered.
2024-25 Wheels Car of the Year Contender: MERCEDES-BENZ E300
Let’s start with the good stuff. There’s plenty to like about the W214 E-Class.
2024-25 Wheels Car of the Year Contender: BYD SEALION 6
Fifty grand and change for a plug-in hybrid SUV that’s box fresh and comes with a whole hatful of bells and whistles? That sounds like fighting talk to us.
2024-25 Wheels Car of the Year Contender: NISSAN QASHQAI TI E-POWER
The Ti spec we chose as the Qashqai range’s COTY contender is the most expensive, at $52,090, which may seem like a disadvantage.
2024-25 Wheels Car of the Year Contender: POLESTAR 3 AWD LONG RANGE
With a cabin as relaxing as a Scandinavian spa, the Polestar 3 exudes a left-field cool.
2024-25 Wheels Car of the Year Contender: LEXUS LBX LUXURY
Building a beautifully appointed and convincing small car has been a surprisingly tough assignment for many premium manufacturers.
2024-25 Wheels Car of the Year Contender: RENAULT MEGANE E-TECH EV60
A sort of tall-small hatchback crossover SUV, just a single variant is currently offered, the $54,990 Techno EV60.
2024-25 Wheels Car of the Year Contender: TOYOTA CAMRY ASCENT SPORT
The reason this Toyota is Australia’s most popular sedan, our ubiquitous taxi, and is now employed by more ride-share drivers than any other vehicle, is easy to understand.
2024-25 Wheels Car of the Year Contender: TESLA MODEL 3 LONG RANGE
What immediately strikes you on the ride and handling loop is just how impressively sharp the turn-in of the Tesla is and, of course, how much typical EV punch it has in terms of usable acceleration.
2024-25 Wheels Car of the Year Contender: MG4 ESSENCE 64
Here is a vehicle that offers performance, practicality and peace of mind – thanks to a 10-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty – but also changes the value equation and makes buying an EV a viable option for so many people by coming to market from just $37,990.
2024-25 Wheels Car of the Year Contender: MERCEDES-AMG GLC43
The most expensive contender at COTY ’24 and certainly one of the most charismatic.
2024-25 Wheels Car of the Year Contender: HYUNDAI IONIQ 6 DYNAMIQ RWD
Hyundai is quickly building a reputation for the unconventional when it comes to electric vehicles.
