As the year draws to a close, it's time to take a look at our most-read car reviews of 2025. It's not just for nostalgia purposes (it is partly that, though), but also to take stock of what you, our readers, want to hear more about.
It's an ever-changing list year-to-year, which is to be expected because the Kiwi industry is ever-changing. What were last year's top reviews? Click here to take a look at the 2024 top 10.
But onward to the 2025 charts. One brand appears here three times, which says something about the level of Kiwi interest in... BYD right now.
But beyond the BYD stuff, there are a couple of other surprises, including one review that was top-three last year and continued to gather audience this year.
1. BYD Shark 6
It's no secret we're fans of the BYD Shark 6 ute. We're just voted it Overall Winner in the 2025 DRIVEN Car Guide New Zealand Car of the Year and we've been consistently intruiged at its many talents through the course of 2025.
Turns out you all feel the same. The Shark 6 is top our the list for the most-read reviews of the year. Our full review was the most popular, but it you add in the various other Shark 6 experiences we've shared over the year, like our first drive, mud-tyre test and even the COTY drive-off (admittedly shared with two other cars), the numbers are overwhelming.
Read our Shark 6 launch story here, our full review here, our quick review of the Shark 6 on mud tyres here, our Car of the Year Overall Winner story here and our COTY drive-off conversation here.
2. BYD Sealion 7
Oh look, another BYD. The Sealion 7 is less a pure-electric version of the Sealion 6 SUV and more an SUV-coupe iteration of the rather sporty Seal sedan.
Our first drive of the Sealion 7 was a big hit and of course we've followed that up with a full review of the go-fast AWD and even a longer-term test of the mainstream RWD.
Read our Sealion 7 launch story here, our full review here, and our long-term test here.
3. Volkswagen Crafter TrailLite 300
Funny thing about our review of the Volkswagen Crafter-based, designed-and made-in-NZ TrailLite 300 motorhome: it was our third-most-popular review of 2024. And it's our third-most-popular review of 2025. The same story.
We Kiwis do love our motorhomes. And the takeaway for us is that we need to spend more time sleeping in our test vehicles.
Read our TrailLite 300 review here.
4. BYD Atto 1
We're yet to conduct a full review of BYD's Atto 1 city EV here in NZ (it'll happen early-2026, we promise), but in October on a trip to China we scored a first drive in the small car we then knew as Seagull.
At that time we didn't know a whole lot about local specification, let alone the final name. But we do know, and you can read about that here.
Read our Seagull/Atto 1 first drive here
5. Jac T9
We kicked off 2025 with a lot of interest in new utes from emerging brands; by which we mostly mean Chinese ones, of course. Jac, a commerical-vehicle specialist, got in right at the start of the year with the T9 one-tonner.
The launch garnered a lot of interest, but what you really wanted to read was our full review of the T9, wich came in at a bargain price of $49,990, fully loaded (including pie warmer) and with a 3-tonne tow rating.
Read our T9 launch story here and our full review here.
6. Haval H6 GT
The Haval H6 GT - essentially a coupe-style version of the H6 SUV, but with a very different look - has been with us for a while. But GWM really picked up the pace with the addition of a PHEV model this year that boasts 321kW and outrageous acceleration: 0-100km/h in 4.9 seconds.
Is it a winning combination of eco-cred with guilt-free crazy performance and no range anxiety? Read the story and find out.
Read our H6 GT full review here.
7. Kia Tasman
The Tasman ute was one of the most talked-about new vehicles of 2025, simply because of its outrageous, mould-breaking looks.
But underneath, it's still a fairly traditional ladder-frame one-tonne ute with a diesel engine. So how does it shape up against the established class-leaders? That's what we set out to discover with our full review.
Read our Tasman launch story here and our full review here.
8. MG ZS Essence Hybrid+
From its start as a cheap and cheerful city SUV, the MG ZS has grown up big-time in its latest generation: larger and higher-qulaity, with a range of powertrain options.
We've tested a variety of ZS models over the year, but the Kiwi passenger market is all about hybrids at the moment, and that's the ZS review which really took off: the Hybrid+, with technology so clever we're still not sure we truly understand it. But it works.
Read our ZS Hybrid+ full review here.
9. Suzuki Fronx
Move over Swift? Maybe not quite, but Suzuki's Indian-sourced Fronx city SUV was launched with a bang this year, the initial shipment selling out pretty much straight away (partly thanks to special pricing).
Even at full retail, our full review praised the little Fronx's style, driving dynamics and equipment - if not the strange name.
Read our Fronx launch story here and our full review here.
10. Chery Tiggo 4
Speaking of Suzuki, if it wasn't for the Japanese brand's Ignis, the Chery Tiggo 4 would be NZ's cheapest new SUV. It's certainly still the cheapest automatic SUV.
It's also rather endearing, with impressive quality and strong equipment levels. And probably a lot larger than you might expect from the pert photographic appearance.
Read our Tiggo 4 launch story here and our full review here.