2024 "Actual" People's Choice - Car of The Year

pegaxs on 13/12/2024 - 12:05
Last edited 13/12/2024 - 12:07

Sitting here going through work emails and got sent a link to "Car of the Year" and thought… JFC, here we go again with the paid off actors, what weird cars are the gongs going to this year? Who has paid the most to have their car get an award…

Every year, it is some "out of touch with the common consumer" car that either no one has heard of, no one knows anyone who owns one, or just an outright "yeah, they bought that award"…

  • From Drive, we have COTY '24: Kia EV9 Air, starting at a paltry $106,550 in NSW.
  • From News, we have COTY '24: BYD Shark, a vehicle that has had zero deliveries and no one owns them and expected deliveries are starting around Jan/Feb '25
  • From Wheels, we have…. Nothing yet. Monday next week it seems the announcement will be made… But this is their short list, made up of mostly high end luxury vehicles and EV's. Ironically, it is sponsored by Smart, who is owned by Geely and MB who just coincidentally have 5 cars in the running… I will update when winner is dropped…

So, I want to know, what is your pick. Not what the numbers tell you, not who sold the most, not the most trusted brand/default answer, what is your honest opinion on what should be the actual overall "Car of the Year"…

NB: It has to be a 2024 vehicle, released in and sold in 2024, not a 2006 burgundy coloured Toyota Camry Altise. Also, if you have some class nominations that you think deserve a nod, ie: best sports car over $400,000, then feel free to add that.

Have added a poll with the current top 10 11 selling vehicles in Australia for 2024 to date… Pick one of them, or nominate your own… If someone posts a car you think deserves the OzB COTY gong, feel free to use their comment as a poll option and give it an upvote.

Poll Options

  • 7
    Ford Ranger
  • 2
    Toyota HiLux
  • 62
    Toyota RAV4
  • 1
    Isuzu Ute D-Max
  • 6
    Mitsubishi Outlander
  • 7
    Toyota Corolla
  • 71
    Tesla Model Y
  • 10
    Mazda CX-5
  • 6
    MG ZS
  • 4
    Ford Everest
  • 3
    Fiat 500e
  • 106
    Other/None of those/See comments
Automotive Car Electric Vehicle Fiat Ford Ford Everest Isuzu Mazda MG Mitsubishi SUV Tesla Inc Toyota Ute

Comments

  • jv on 13/12/2024 - 12:09
    +11

    Goggomobil

    • Protractor on 13/12/2024 - 12:40
      +3

      Holden EH Premier

    • Yummy on 13/12/2024 - 18:24
      +2

      Gee oh gee gee oh.

    • Preet on 14/12/2024 - 06:20

      Not the Dart!

    • SBOB on 14/12/2024 - 07:57

      I've always had problems with mine….

    • coregti on 14/12/2024 - 08:02
      -2

      Tesla Model 3. I'm 66 and owned a few cars but the Model 3 is easily the best car I've ever driven. Especially for road trips.

  • Euphemistic on 13/12/2024 - 12:09
    +16

    Wheres the $30k MG4? And how did a fiat get to the top 11?

    • pegaxs on 13/12/2024 - 12:53
      -1

      Yeah, I think we all know how the Fiat got in that list…

    • Oz8argain on 13/12/2024 - 17:21
      +2

      MG4 is amazing for 30k. we paid full price at launch but still a great car.

  • mboy on 13/12/2024 - 12:13
    +4

    Such an odd list. Why is the Tesla Model Y listed, when we got a refreshed and much improved Model 3 this last year?

    • pegaxs on 13/12/2024 - 12:57
      +2

      Because it was in the top 10 11 selling vehicles to date in 2024. I just used "year to date" sales figures to Dec `24 as a base.

      It is not the definitive list, so, if you think another car would deserve the COTY award, let us know.

      • Randolph Duke on 14/12/2024 - 07:51
        +1

        Don’t the car mags typically go by first released year or major revision year when considering Car of the Year, not all new cars for sale in that year?

      • smartProverble on 14/12/2024 - 11:56

        If you're going to nominate the top 11 selling cars, where's the rest?

  • Benoffie on 13/12/2024 - 12:14
    +7

    I own a RAV4 but if I had spare money Id go an Ioniq 5. They are just a good looking car.

    • charlierg on 13/12/2024 - 21:13
      -4

      Really 😂

    • smartProverble on 14/12/2024 - 11:57
      +1

      World Car of the Year winner too

  • djones145 on 13/12/2024 - 12:28
    +5

    anything with an AMG badge is the winner for me!

    thats a high yield investment

    • shxhshzhz on 13/12/2024 - 12:34
      +3

      Winner.

      • Agret on 13/12/2024 - 14:31
        +1

        The poor mans Toyota Century

  • crazyguy on 13/12/2024 - 12:31

    I have a RAV4 and I would not replace it with any other car.

  • Protractor on 13/12/2024 - 12:33
    +2

    Interesting. We find out that these media driven (advertorial) COTY etc awards are stupid, but not as stupid as the rules or those who voted for the winners. I'm shocked.

  • MS Paint on 13/12/2024 - 12:38
    +3

    2006 burgundy coloured Toyota Camry Altise.

    But I replaced the crochet cover for the tissue box on the parcel shelf in 2024 so surely that gets it over the line.

    • Agret on 13/12/2024 - 12:51
      +1

      Australian delivered vehicles really should rename it the tissue box shelf, never see anything else on there.

      • Protractor on 13/12/2024 - 13:47

        It's actually a nodding dog shelf that has been relegated.

    • CheapandUsed on 13/12/2024 - 15:50
      +3

      I think most of these and the champagne coloured ones have been traded in on Tesla Model Y's now… the driving abilities seem to match

    • sumyungguy on 13/12/2024 - 16:53

      Jasper Red Camry Ascent Sport made Wheels Mag's 2024 Final List

    • Daabido on 13/12/2024 - 20:47

      You monster!

  • DingoBilly on 13/12/2024 - 12:41
    +6

    Are these really the top 10 selling cars? That's pretty depressing, most of them are terrible.

    • pegaxs on 13/12/2024 - 14:30

      I would think that if you took out all the “fleet sales”, these numbers would be a lot different.

      It’s like a decade or more ago when Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore would outsell the rest of the market combined. A lot of it was attributed to fleet sales.

      I would like to see what the sales figures would show the top cars to be if all fleet sales were removed.

      • Euphemistic on 13/12/2024 - 17:12
        +1

        No fleet sales would really hurt the utes. Also seem to see a lot of rav4 and outlanders as fleet vehicles.

        • pegaxs on 13/12/2024 - 18:58
          +1

          I still think that the Outlander and Rav4 would still top the tables. They are still popular vehicles in their own right, but the Ranger/Hilux/D-Max have most certainly become the new "Falcon/Commodore" replacement.

          The MG ZS also features quite high on the list, but that is one SUV I have a feeling is being floated by hire car companies. I dont see many of them on the roads unless they have rental car stickers on the rear windows.

          • Euphemistic on 13/12/2024 - 19:56

            @pegaxs: Agree that rav4 and outlander would be high on the list for 'non fleet'. The MGs other than the 3 and 4 dont seem to be too popular - at least i dont notice them much, but that could just be because they are non descript and blend in.

    • cfuse on 14/12/2024 - 10:14

      The most popular thing is always the sweet spot between terrible and expensive.

  • Ocker on 13/12/2024 - 12:42

    Ford Mustang

  • Agret on 13/12/2024 - 12:51

    My mum got a 2024 Mazda3 Sedan and she opted to just get the base model this time around. The amount of inclusions in the base model is pretty good these days, I think the cheap overseas cars have made manufacturers include more stuff. The nav screen + controls for it are good, even has a heads up display that projects onto the dash. I think for what she paid ($32k cash after including what they paid for her 2012 Mazda3 trade in) she got a great upgrade, she bought during some promo where they gave double trade-in value for your old car. The sedan was delivered in much smaller numbers so was hard to find, some price premium over the hatch which seems to be the most popular choice and easier to find a bit cheaper but she test drove the hatch and said she was unhappy with the rear visibility from her driving position.

    • MS Paint on 13/12/2024 - 12:57
      +2

      she bought during some promo where they gave double trade-in value for your old car.

      Sounds legit

      • Agret on 13/12/2024 - 14:27
        +1

        Haha yeah probably about as legit as the RRP you see on every 'deal' ;) they gave her something like $5k for it but the car had a few issues so it was a good opportunity to offload it without trying to fix it up for a private sale.

        • ESEMCE on 13/12/2024 - 15:52

          But a base model Mazda 3 is $33,990 drive away
          $33,990-$5000 is less than $30k when last I checked.

          • Agret on 13/12/2024 - 20:08

            @ESEMCE: The sedan is hard to come by, not sure what the pricing is like but I imagine you pay a premium to find an in stock one rather than waiting for delivery?

    • Chandler on 13/12/2024 - 16:54

      I think the cheap overseas cars have made manufacturers include more stuff

      I think that's exactly it. We got a new car in 2018. The top of the range (not the one we got) included radar cruise control and some other features. If we were to buy the base model of the same car now, it comes with said radar cruise control and some of the other features previously reserved for the higher tier models.

  • altomic on 13/12/2024 - 12:52
    +1

    No Haval?

    No AU falcon on gas?

    • Daabido on 13/12/2024 - 20:51

      When the end of the world comes, ghost FOGs will still cruise the highways.

    • ThadtheChad on 13/12/2024 - 23:53

      No AU falcon on gas?

      Its 2024 mate. All the bogans are driving yank tanks and raptors now.

      • Showmethebargains on 14/12/2024 - 09:22

        All the bogans in our area have moved up to clapped out old Subaru Foresters.

  • captbollocks on 13/12/2024 - 12:56
    +3

    I think BYD needs to be a "Car of the Year" contender - if anything to knock out Elon's Tesla off the top spot for 2024 EV's.
    Been seeing way more of them this year than in previous years.

    • BuDWiZe on 13/12/2024 - 22:53

      yep we just bought a atto3 2024 as the wifes run around car and it was WAY better than i thought it would be. its pretty fun to drive
      i looked at hyundais offering and the interiors feel ancient in comparison to and while tesla were good she didnt like only having the screen in middle and nothing behind wheel. we also test drive some hybrids, 1 being the jeep suv and 2 vws. i couldnt believe the jeep suv was over 10k more than i paid for the byd and it wasnt near as comfortable. went for a drive into the city a few days ago and saw several atto3s driving around and a number of seals to so they seem to be popular in city center. bonus to is i can claim all of the ev on tax with no fbt

      • gyrex on 14/12/2024 - 10:05

        The atto 3 is a lovely looking car on the outside but you need a spew bucket seated in the cup holder for when you open the door and are hit in the face by the unholy, ghastly interior.

  • Gdsamp on 13/12/2024 - 12:57
    -1

    MG HS

  • 87percent on 13/12/2024 - 13:26

    Took the new Hyundai Sante Fe for a test drive, and its a nice car.. but the thing feels enormous. I would hate to drive that car in a shopping centre carpark

    • geekcohen on 13/12/2024 - 13:51

      Cars like that are not for City Driving in my opinion. I have a Ford Ranger and I found it big enough going in around the city/metro area. I am in a Rural area and its great. My wife has a Tucson and more of the city car. When we go to Melbourne, we take her car because its easy for car parks.

    • Euphemistic on 13/12/2024 - 13:58

      If only theyd put the taillights up a bit higher.

    • Agret on 13/12/2024 - 21:03

      Checkout the Kia Sportage

  • onetwothreefour on 13/12/2024 - 13:55

    Camry

  • DGrayson82 on 13/12/2024 - 14:30
    +1

    Bugatti Bolide

    Seriously though, those new Santa Fe's are really nice, especially in white

  • Drakesy on 13/12/2024 - 14:43
    +1

    Lol @ Toyota Rav 4 - a 6 year old car design.

    My pick for the PHEV's would be the Haval H6 GT - 180km EV range and 0 - 100 in under 5 seconds all with the practicality of an SUV
    My pick for the EV's would be the MG4 still. Nothing really can get close to it value wise.

    • Gdsamp on 13/12/2024 - 14:49
      +1

      sadly PHEV GT not due till next yr

    • Iwantthebestprice on 13/12/2024 - 15:37

      Was shocked when I saw an ad yesterday for the new Havel H6 GT. I thought no way are they getting 180km out of a hybrid, but it seems they have backed it up with independent testing. Petrol when battery is flat is very high but honestly how many people are gonna use the battery fully in a day. Good price to at just over $50K.

  • mskeggs on 13/12/2024 - 14:48
    +3

    Is there any reason the Holden Camira won't back up for another win?

    • brad1-8tsi on 13/12/2024 - 15:30

      Hasn't there been some mungas in the past!

      • CurlCurl on 13/12/2024 - 17:58

        Leyland P76

  • sane on 13/12/2024 - 14:51
    +4

    Let's be honest, all of these are ugly and/or boring. Nobody in 20 years is going to look back fondly on a 'classic' Rav4 or Model Y. Zero passion or soul. The automotive equivalents of a new build estate.

    • MrThing on 13/12/2024 - 20:05
      -1

      Literally no consumer level car made today in 20years will be a classic like old bombadores or falcoons are

      • derrida derider on 14/12/2024 - 10:12

        The last car that the average person could buy that was also destined to be a classic was the NA MX5. Even the cheapest and nastiest car on the market today (probably the MG3) is objectively a far far better car than most of those old classics.

        The truth is that most such classics are lousy cars that become classic only through sheer nostalgia, as old guys get the car they wanted when they were teenagers. That goes in spades for the Falcodores.

  • Jaspa7 on 13/12/2024 - 15:27
    +10

    Loving my BYD Seal - but understand it's not for everyone

    • this is us on 13/12/2024 - 15:32
      +4

      Bought one early this year and also like the car very much. Definitely my car of the year. We have two votes here 😂

    • drprox on 13/12/2024 - 19:53
      +2

      Another vote here. I won't argue it's more fun or as practical as other options but it's a very 'normal' car for an EV so easy for ppl to adjust to!

      Edit - also unlike other EVs where it's clear manufacturers have dropped material quality in order to retain margins (or recoup dev costs looking at the euros) it actually feels like a $60k car.

      • NMC on 14/12/2024 - 01:05

        It's also a really good looking car.

        • Eeples on 14/12/2024 - 07:08

          It looks a bit bland to me. Non descript.

          But, everyone looks at cars differently.

        • drprox on 14/12/2024 - 08:18

          I guess so. I'm not much for car looks unless it's a sportscar :)

    • Cliche Guevara on 14/12/2024 - 09:14

      My vote would BYD Seal as well. Such a nice car.

  • AngusD on 13/12/2024 - 16:02
    +5

    If you're not actually a car journo, how many brand new 2024 cars is anybody likely to have actually driven this year to be able to make some kind of useful comparison? That's the main problem with a "peoples choice" award for new cars. I guess if you were buying a new one then you might have test driven a few.

    I'm going to vote BMW M340i because it's one of only 3 2024 model cars I drove this year and I bloody love it. The others being an Audi S5 which was OK and a Mitsubishi Outlander which was utter dogsh*t.

  • JimmyF on 13/12/2024 - 16:43
    +1

    From News, we have COTY '24: BYD Shark(news.com.au), a vehicle that has had zero deliveries and no one owns them and expected deliveries are starting around Jan/Feb '25

    Tell me the car had a wad of cash in the glovebox without telling me….

    How can a car with zero deliveries by 'car of the year'.

    • MetalPhreak on 13/12/2024 - 19:53

      Do you actually expect news.com.au to be anything else? Surprised they didn’t announce some taboola car as the coty.

      • JimmyF on 13/12/2024 - 21:42

        Do you actually expect news.com.au to be anything else?

        Not really……

  • sim777 on 13/12/2024 - 18:03

    Honda Civic Type R (FL5)

  • lordofdestruction on 13/12/2024 - 19:11
    +4

    Tesla Model Y. It is quiet, smooth and quick.

  • SpicyStew on 13/12/2024 - 19:43
    +1

    and they tell me democracy works

  • drprox on 13/12/2024 - 19:51
    +4

    Byd Seal

  • MetalPhreak on 13/12/2024 - 19:52
    +4

    BYD Shark could be a genuine contender…. For 2025.

    Slightly biased because i bought one but the BYD Sealion 6 is very good value. Not much can touch it in performance/features for the price in the hybrid category.

    • JimmyF on 13/12/2024 - 21:43

      BYD Shark could be a genuine contender…. For 2025.

      I'm sure the Shark will be a great PHEV ute, but for 2025!! The first deliveries are not till Jan 2025! So calling it 2024 car of the year is a joke!

  • Scrooge McGoose on 13/12/2024 - 19:54
    +4

    These should be called "Car advertiser of the year" award.

  • MrThing on 13/12/2024 - 20:04

    Lame poll, can't withdraw fat finger vote

  • DiscoJango on 13/12/2024 - 20:05
    -3

    The new model ranger looks sick, and actually has a decent interior to boot.

  • serpserpserp on 13/12/2024 - 21:41
    -2

    Sorry, the is ozbargain, how can you not have the MG4 listed? Is it not considered a 2024 car?

    • pegaxs on 13/12/2024 - 22:11

      Other/none of these/see comments…

      And I just posted the list of what are the top 10 11 selling cars from 2024.

  • atris17 on 13/12/2024 - 22:52

    Mg4 best purchase at 31k

  • PinzVidz on 13/12/2024 - 23:03

    New gen Camry, it's like a Lexus for Toyota money.

    • TightAl on 14/12/2024 - 11:42

      Double negative lmao

  • sheepynz on 13/12/2024 - 23:40
    -2

    Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV 7 Seats

    • pegaxs on 14/12/2024 - 07:21

      Don’t know why the negs… Outlander was one of the highest selling vehicle this year… someone must like them…

  • bar gain man on 14/12/2024 - 00:12

    Kia Sorento, Sportage are missing

  • Smokey010 on 14/12/2024 - 00:21
    -1

    Tank 300 😬

  • amail2you on 14/12/2024 - 01:30

    People's choice car of the year is TOYOTA KLUGER HYBRID. The number of these cars on the road.. I stopped counting.

  • angywoo on 14/12/2024 - 01:38
    +2

    Lovin my Kia Carnival!

    Surprised it's not on the list…

    • angywoo on 14/12/2024 - 01:41
      +1

      Got it down to 3.9 l/100!!!!!
      Not bad for an 8 seater.

    • souljah on 14/12/2024 - 06:55

      Kia Carnivals assemble!

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join