We’re continuing to reveal the finalists in the AA DRIVEN New Zealand Car of the Year awards for 2022 – and rapidly getting towards the big reveal of the class winners and overall victor.
Following last week’s focus on Clean Cars, this week we’re looking at two extremes of the automotive spectrum: the Passenger and Sports & Performance Classes.
As with other categories, the focus is on cars launched in the last 12 months, but in fact we have considered all cars on sale as long as they have a five-star crash rating.
The best passenger vehicles of 2022
The NZ new-vehicle market is dominated by utes and SUVs these days, which has pushed what we might call “traditional” genres off to the side. But while hatchbacks, sedans and people-movers might no longer be the default choice for Kiwi buyers, there are still plenty of highly accomplished and exciting models on offer – and plenty of buyers who don’t necessarily need or want to be riding high. That’s why we choose to consider these family-focused together in a segment we call Passenger.
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The Honda Jazz is a favourite supermini for its versatility, incredible space efficiency (thanks partly to Honda’s unique Magic Seat configuration) and a model range that ticks a lot of boxes through just three basic specificiations. There is conventional petrol power in both entry Life hatch and SUV-style Cross Star versions, plus the hugely successful and very high-tech e:HEV hybrid.
There’s more than a hint of SUV in the Kia EV6, but ultimately we reckon it stands out as a sharply styled family fastback. We love the advanced pure-electric powertrain, impressive quality and luxury-car equipment.
Volkswagen’s Multivan T7 plug-in hybrid blends the sheer space and practicality of a people mover with the driving character and refinement of a car – because that’s what it is underneath. The latest Multivan has shed its light commercial roots and is now based on the same platform and technology as the Golf and Skoda Octavia (which is also where it gets its PHEV powertrain).
These are three very different cars, but they also have quite a bit in common. They’re all also finalists in other AA DRIVEN Car of the Year categories: the Jazz in HEV, the EV6 in BEV and the Multivan in PHEV. So they’re all Clean Cars as well.
