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.
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 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.
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: 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: 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: 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.
