Last week we announced the AA DRIVEN Car Guide NZ Car of the Year overall winner for 2024: the BYD Sealion 6 SUV. So that makes five.
Okay, so our COTY goes back a number of years, in different forms. But the current format, in association with the AA, really got its kickstart in 2019. That’s just five years ago, but so much has changed in both buyer preference and new-vehicle technology.
We’re quite proud that our four past winners from that period (we missed a year in 2020, thanks to Covid-19) are such a diverse group. What were they again? Let’s look back.
FORD FOCUS (2019)
How times have changed! In 2024 you can’t even buy a Ford Focus in NZ (or any kind of Ford hatchback for that matter), but back in 2019 we were impressed enough with the car’s package of technology and driving dynamics to give it the big prize.
Focus was also judged the Best Small Car (a category we don’t have any more) and another Ford up-and-comer, the Ranger, was Best Ute.
TOYOTA GR YARIS (2021)
A tiny hot hatch with rally-inspired technology is hardly the expected choice for COTY. But the GR Yaris was an exceptional car in 2021 and still is: the kind of thing that only comes along once every few decades.
The engine is incredible, the chassis is incredible, the whole package is… well, you get it. The GR Yaris pretty much became an instant classic and of course it was a taster for the equally awesome (and slightly more practical) GR Corolla.
FORD RANGER (2022)
Another somewhat controversial choice, albeit for a different reason. At the height of the feebate-fuelled frenzy of EV sales, we decided the mostly-diesel Ford Ranger was the best new vehicle of the year.
In hindsight… we reckon we were absolutely right. Ranger is now regarded as a landmark vehicle in its segment and in 2024 it’s as good as ever. The people have spoken, too: it’s still a best-seller.
MG4 (2023)
This seems like yesterday; well, it was only last year. The MG4 proved that you could have a value-priced, family EV that looked cool and was great fun to drive, as well as being comfortable and practical.
MG had come up with some impressive EVs for the Kiwi market prior to MG4, but this was the one where it all came together brilliantly: new platform, new tech and a broad range that appealed to a huge range of consumer needs.