The Australia's Best Cars (ABC) annual awards are becoming increasingly highly regarded by consumers and car makers alike. Vehicles are tested by experts from the state and territory automobile associations; that is the AANT, NRMA, RAASA, RACQ, RACT, RACV and RACWA.
The ABC awards have always impressed us because they differ from others awards in that any vehicle currently on the new-car market is eligible, not just the latest releases. We feel this is a sensible way of choosing competitors as potential buyers of new cars may not necessarily look only at recently introduced models.
Most of those carrying out the reviews are from engineering backgrounds, though as admitted revheads they also put an emotional slant on their likes – and dislikes – about the cars they are driving. There is, however, a preponderance of males in the group – 100 per cent the last time I counted – though they do seriously heed comments from their wives and female co-workers.
Though there’s no outright winner, the general feeling is that ‘the’ car of the year is the winner of the Best Large Car Under $60,000 category. That’s because traditional rivals Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore feature there. However, the pair has had some serious competition in recent years, with Toyota’s Aurion winning in 2009.
All three of these cars (Aurion, Commodore, Falcon) are Australian built, so it came as a big shock in 2010 when the Best Large Car was not only European, by Skoda, but had a four-cylinder diesel engine in a segment traditionally dominated by six-cylinder petrol cars.
The 2011 ABC awards have seen a swing back to ‘normal’ with Ford’s Falcon getting the nod from the judges. In an interesting move it’s not the traditional Falcon petrol engine that’s won the prize, but the newly launched LPG version of the powerplant. Ford Falcon EcoLPi is largely an Australian design and the judges praised it for not only being clean, but also because it’s a pleasure to sit behind.
The points system for the ABC awards is fine tuned at the start of each new year. Following some criticism that the system was skewed towards diesels in 2010 – when nine of fifteen were winners – the line-up looks better balanced this year.
Though an LPG car took out our unofficial winning spot there was an interesting mix of other fuels. Unlike the 2010 ABC awards that were dominated by turbo-diesel engines, the 2011 winners are almost evenly split, with seven having petrol power and six using diesel fuel.
The new Lexus CT200h stands out by having a petrol engine with some assistance from electrical power in its hybrid powertrain.
As has been happening in recent years, German makers have dominated the 2011 Australian Best Cars awards, taking out no fewer than nine of the fifteen categories. South Korean was a distant second with three winners, leaving Australia, Great Britain and Japan with just one each.
Conglomerates of vehicle makers predominated in the results: Volkswagen / Audi took over a third of the trophies, with six winners; Hyundai / Kia managed three. Mercedes-Benz was the only other marque to have multiple winners, with a marked contrast between the hot and thirsty AMG C 63 and the economical C 250 turbo-diesel. BMW, Ford, Land Rover and Lexus each had a single top spot car.
The winners of Australia’s Best Cars awards for 2011 are:
Kia Rio Si – Best Light Car Under $20,000
Volkswagen Polo 66TDI Comfortline – Best Light Car Over $20,000
Volkswagen Golf 90TSI Trendline – Best Small Car Under $35,000
Lexus CT200h Prestige – Best Small Car Over $35,000
Volkswagen Jetta 118TSI Comfortline – Best Medium Car Under $50,000
Mercedes-Benz C 250 CDI Avantgarde – Best Medium Car Over $50,000
Ford Falcon EcoLPi XT – Best Large Car Under $60,000
Audi A6 3.0 TDI Quattro – Best Large Car Over $60,000
Hyundai iMax – Best People Mover
BMW 135i Coupe – Best Sports Car Under $80,000
Mercedes-Benz C 63 AMG – Best Sports Car Over $80,000
Volkswagen Tiguan 103TDI – Best SUV Under $40,000
Kia Sorento SLi – Best SUV Over $40,000
Volkswagen Touareg V6 TDI – Best Luxury SUV Over $60,000
Land Rover Discovery 4 SDV6 SE – Best All-Terrain 4WD
Full details of the Australia's Best Cars awards, including information on the judging criteria, past winners and many interesting facts and figures, can be found at www.australiasbestcars.com.au/. |
Print Article
Submit Feedback
Email This Article
