Which model is the best in its respective class for 2022?
- 1. Best Electric Car 2022
- Find out the winner of Best Electric Car 2022
- 2. Best First Car 2022
- Find out the winner of Best First Car 2022
- 3. Best Small SUV 2022
- Find out the winner of Best Small SUV 2022
- 4. Best Mid-Size SUV 2022
- Find out the winner of Best Mid-Size SUV 2022
- 5. Best Family SUV 2022
- Find out the winner of Best Family SUV 2022
- 6. Best Off-Road SUV 2022
- Find out the winner of Best Off-Road SUV 2022
- 7. Best Dual-Cab 4×4 Ute 2022
- Find out the winner of Best Dual-Cab 4×4 Ute 2022
- 8. Best Hot Hatch 2022
- Find out the winner of Best Hot Hatch 2022
- 9. Best Used Cars 2022
- Find out the winner of Best Used Cars 2022
carsales Car of the Year is and will remain our premier annual automotive award, recognising only the best new model released in any given year.
But our well-established Best Cars awards compare models within separate market segments, making them the ultimate buying guide to help you choose the best vehicle in the shape and size that best suits your needs.
Our Best awards series of mega-tests is the one-stop shop for all new-car buyers and among the hundreds of reviews, thousands of news articles and millions of minutes of video we published this year, some of our most engaged-with stories in 2022 were Best awards.
Every carsales Best award assesses the top contenders in their respective sales segments against more than 100 criteria across five key areas including safety, technology, comfort and convenience, ownerships costs and driving performance.
In addition, there are other segment-specific test areas such as towing/payload and off-road performance for 4×4 utes. Here are the best of our Best awards published in 2022.
1. Best Electric Car 2022
We took 13 of Australia’s most affordable EVs to find out which is best in this rapidly growing part of the market. All contenders were priced under $75,000 and the field included both cars and SUVs.
Best Electric Car 2022 contenders included the new BYD Atto 3, Hyundai IONIQ 5, Hyundai Kona Electric, Kia EV6, Kia Niro EV, Lexus UX 300e, Mazda MX-30 Electric, MG ZS EV, MINI Electric, Nissan LEAF, Polestar 2, Tesla Model 3 and Tesla Model Y.
Find out the winner of Best Electric Car 2022
2. Best First Car 2022
This year’s Best First Car award compared nine compact hatchbacks – from both the light and small car segments – priced under $30,000, fitted with autonomous emergency braking and a revering camera, and awarded a five-star ANCAP safety rating.
The field comprised the Hyundai i30, Kia Cerato, Kia Rio, Mazda2, Mazda3, Subaru Impreza, Suzuki Swift, Toyota Corolla and Toyota Yaris.
Find out the winner of Best First Car 2022
3. Best Small SUV 2022
From the third biggest market segment we selected 15 of the most popular compact SUVs, each priced under $40,000.
The bumper field included the Haval Jolion, Hyundai Kona, Hyundai Venue, Kia Seltos, Kia Stonic, Mazda CX-3, Mazda CX-30, MG ZST, Mitsubishi ASX, Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross, Subaru XV, Toyota C-HR, Toyota Yaris Cross, Volkswagen T-Cross and Volkswagen T-Roc.
Find out the winner of Best Small SUV 2022
4. Best Mid-Size SUV 2022
We took 14 of the most popular entrants in Australia’s largest auto market segment, each of them priced under $55,000, to name just one winner.
The field comprised the Ford Escape, Haval H6, Honda CR-V, Hyundai Tucson, Kia Sportage, Mazda CX-5, MG HS, Mitsubishi Outlander, Nissan X-TRAIL, Renault Koleos, Skoda Karoq, Subaru Forester, Toyota RAV4 and Volkswagen Tiguan.
Find out the winner of Best Mid-Size SUV 2022
5. Best Family SUV 2022
We assembled the eight most popular car-based large seven-seat SUVs on the market and tested them in premium all-wheel drive guise – whether petrol, diesel or hybrid-powered – to find which is best.
The contenders list comprised the Hyundai Palisade, Hyundai Santa Fe, Kia Sorento, Mazda CX-8, Mazda CX-9, Skoda Kodiaq, Toyota Kluger and Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace.
Find out the winner of Best Family SUV 2022
6. Best Off-Road SUV 2022
Unlike Best Family SUV, this award compares the most popular all-terrain four-wheel drive wagons priced under $100,000.
This year’s 12-strong field includes the Ford Everest, Isuzu MU-X LS-M, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Jeep Wrangler, Land Rover Defender, LDV D90, Mitsubishi Pajero Sport, Nissan Patrol, SsangYong Rexton, Toyota Fortuner, Toyota Prado and Toyota LandCruiser.
Find out the winner of Best Off-Road SUV 2022
7. Best Dual-Cab 4×4 Ute 2022
Four-wheel drive utes form Australia’s second biggest new-vehicle sales segment and dual-cabs are the most popular, so we lined up the best seven dual-cab 4×4 utes – each priced around $60,000 and fitted with a diesel-auto powertrain.
Contenders comprised the new Ford Ranger and the GWM Ute, Isuzu D-MAX, Mazda BT-50, Mitsubishi Triton, Nissan Navara and of course the top-selling Toyota HiLux.
Find out the winner of Best Dual-Cab 4×4 Ute 2022
8. Best Hot Hatch 2022
This year we back-to-backed the only six affordable front-drive hot hatches that remained available in Australia and put them through their paces both on road and track, as well as through the carsales Best judging wringer.
The contenders were the Ford Fiesta ST, Ford Focus ST, Hyundai i20 N, Hyundai i30 N, Volkswagen Polo GTI and Volkswagen Golf GTI.
Find out the winner of Best Hot Hatch 2022
9. Best Used Cars 2022
Our first Best award in 2022 was, as usual, dedicated to used cars up to six years old and from several different categories, with the RedBook valuation specialists once again crunching the cost of ownership data.
The categories were Small Car, Medium Car, Large Car, Small SUV, Medium SUV, Large SUV, Sports Car, Luxury Car, Dual-Cab Ute and Off-Road 4×4.
Find out the winner of Best Used Cars 2022
Keyword: Best of carsales’ Best Cars awards