Car of the Year 2025 winners, as judged by Drive experts, are dominated by hybrids with the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid awarded overall best car of the year. With winners announced across 19 categories, buyers in the market for a range of different types, sizes and priced vehicles have the best models already judged for their consideration.
These annual awards conducted by Drive, have been undertaken for 20 years and cover many categories. The categories are assessed and amended each year to reflect changing tastes and the new car market. Not surprising then that hybrid models feature in the top 3 in many of the 2025 categories.
The awards offer buyers, who may be confused with the many options in the Australian market, with the benefit of the assessment of motoring experts as to the best vehicles across many categories. The judges determine the best model in each category, based on set criteria. But are these winners the best cars for you? If one of your key criteria is affordability, the ‘best’ vehicle for you may rely on the securing the best finance. The awards single out what are considered the most affordable cars in several popular categories.
While considering the 2025 winners as possibilities for your new vehicle, also consider the finance options. Our Finance Calculator is available to quickly calculate loan estimates to compare repayments on different priced cars.
Car of the Year Winners
Here are the best cars for 2025 as judged by the Drive experts, with vehicles for consideration from most affordable through luxury, for cars, SUVs, EVs and workhorse utes.
- Family below $80,000 – Kia Carnival
- EV below $50,000 - BYD Seal Dynamic
- EV below $100,000 – Tesla Model 3
- Family EV below $100,000 – VW ID Buzz
- Luxury EV below $150,000 – Porsche Macan
- Small SUV below $50,000 – Hyundai Kona Hybrid
- Small SUV below $80,000 – Mini Countryman
- Medium SUV below $50,000 – Hyundai Tucson Hybrid
- Medium SUV below $80,000 – Genesis GV70
- Large SUV below $80,000 – Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid
- Luxury SUV below $150,000 – Porsche Macan
- Urban below $30,000 – Chery Tiggo 4 Pro
- Urban below $50,000 – Honda Civic Hybrid
- Luxury below $100,000 – Polestar 4
- Off-Road SUV below $80,000 – Ford Everest
- Off-road SUV below $150,000 – Land Rover Defender 110
- Dual-Cab Ute below $50,000 – KGM SsangYong Musso
- Dual-Cab Ute below $100,000 – Ford Ranger
- Dual Cab Ute below $150,000 – Chevrolet Silverado 1500
For more options to consider, refer to the Drive site for the other finalists in all categories. The judging starts with quite a line-up of models, which are then cut back to usually three finalists and eventually the one winner.
Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid – Car of the Year 2025
While Toyota and Mazda regularly lead as the top-selling vehicle manufacturers in the Australian new vehicle market, it was Hyundai that received several car of the year category wins for 2025. The Santa Fe Hybrid taking out the Large SUV and the overall win, and the Kona and Tucson hybrids also taking out the gong in their respective categories.
The Sante Fe Hybrid was judged the best for its funky and futuristic style, the efficiency of the hybrid engine, equipment, spaciousness, adaptability and suitability for a family. Buyers interested in why the judges thought this was worthy of the accolade can refer to the assessment report for more details and to the Hyundai website for vehicle specifications.
For those looking to put the Santa Fe Hybrid at the top of their purchase list, there are a number of model variants to consider. Prices as currently advertised by Hyundai start from around $61,000 and up to $82,000 for the 7 seat Calligraphy variant. Note what dealer charges etc need to be added to the base pricing. These prices can be useful as a starting point for estimating your finance.
Calculate Your Finance on the Car of the Year Winners
If planning to purchase with finance, to see if the winner or finalists in your preferred category are within your budget, use our Finance Calculator. Estimated pricing is usually available at manufacturers’ websites and may be used as the loan amount required when using the calculator. If trading in a current vehicle, a guesstimate of the trade may be deducted from the new car pricing to arrive at the finance required for the purchase.
The calculator can be used to estimate repayments on all our credit products – Personal Secured Loans for private buyers, and Lease, CHP and Chattel Mortgage for business operators. Use our latest interest rate for your preferred loan product, along with the preferred term, to calculate your estimated repayments.
If you would like confidence that your loan is approved and you would like to know your specific repayments prior to engaging in discussions with a dealer, consider applying for finance first. Our pre-approved car loan service can be extremely helpful in assisting with the buying process.
Contact Jade Car Loans 1300 000 003 for affordable finance on the 2025 Car of the Year and winners in other categories.
DISCLAIMER: IN REGARD TO MISREPRESENTATIONS AND ERRORS CONTAINED IN THE MATERIAL AS PRESENTED, LIABILITY IS NOT ACCEPTED. THE DETAILS AND CONTENT IS PROVIDED FOR CAR BUYERS AND INDIVIDUALS AND BUSINESS SEEKING FINANCE PURELY AS GENERAL INFORMATION. THIS IS NOT PROVIDED AS THE ONLY SOURCE OF FINANCIAL INFORMATION. ANYONE THAT CONSIDERS THAT NEED FINANCIAL ADVICE ABOUT THEIR SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS SHOULD SEEK THEIR OWN FINANCIAL ADVISOR.
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