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WHEELS CAR OF THE YEAR

COTY: Past winners

The annual Wheels Car of the Year is one of the world’s longest-running automotive awards, with a history that stretches back to 1963.

That makes our award the grand old age of 60 and in that time a broad spectrum of cars have earned the title, ranging from obvious choices to properly left-of-field. Holden Camira, anyone?

The common thread among all of them, however, is that they were good enough to be judged the best of their time by a panel of Australia’s most seasoned motoring journalists. Here’s the list.

COTY

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.

COTY

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.

COTY

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?

COTY

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.

COTY

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.

COTY

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.

COTY

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.

COTY

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.

COTY

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.

COTY

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.

COTY

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.

News

2025-26 Wheels Car of the Year issue now on sale

From 20 contenders to a surprise top three and a deserving winner, the 62nd edition of the world’s longest running annual car award, Wheels’ Car of the Year, returns in our annual yearbook along with plenty of other highlights.

COTY

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.

COTY

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).

COTY

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.

COTY

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.

COTY

2024-25 Wheels Car of the Year Contender: SKODA ENYAQ SPORTLINE RWD

An intriguing concept with some flaws in execution.

COTY

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.

COTY

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.

COTY

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.

COTY

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.

COTY

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.

COTY

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.

COTY

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.