A lot of significant new models came to market this year – here’s our pick of the five most important
- 1. Ford Ranger
- 2. Kia EV6
- 3. Nissan Z
- 4. Tesla Model Y
- 5. BYD Atto 3
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This year was certainly a big one when it came to important and/or milestone new-model launches in the Australian automotive market, which has grown since 2021 and will again top one million sales in 2022.
Choosing just five of them to reflect back on as the most significant of the year was trickier than you might think, but we’ve cast the net wide and identified a trio of game-changing new vehicles and a pair of rejuvenated icons.
This article doesn’t necessarily recap the most popular new releases of the year, but rather the most important market introductions – and they include a diverse mix of utes, SUVs and sports cars with both combustion and electric powertrains.
Happy reading, merry Christmas and we look forward to bringing you coverage of another fresh batch of new models in 2023!
1. Ford Ranger
The latest and greatest iteration of Ford’s best-selling model – and Australia’s second most popular new vehicle behind the Toyota HiLux – was never going to be omitted from this list.
The fact is the new Ford Ranger – the only ute designed, engineered and developed in Australia – is not only a smash-hit in showrooms, but it’s objectively the best ute on the market right now.
Bigger and butcher than ever before, the 2022 Ford Ranger’s trumpcard was the introduction of a new 3.0-litre turbo-diesel V6 good for 184kW of power and 600Nm of torque.
Delivery wait times for the new V6 still extend up to a year depending on the grade, but bi-turbo four-cylinder versions of the new Ranger are in stock and even more new variants are set to be introduced next year.
2. Kia EV6
Another shoo-in for this list was our 2022 carsales Car of the Year, the Kia EV6 electric SUV.
Kia’s first bespoke EV is not only great to drive and comes with generous aftersales care, its pricing is competitive with other mainstream EVs and it has the lowest five-year cost of ownership among our top 30 COTY contenders.
The Kia EV6 builds on the impressive e-GMP fundamentals established last year by the related Hyundai IONIQ 5 and delivers better ride/handling, superior cabin design, a longer driving range and, until recently at least, more power.
3. Nissan Z
The 2022 Nissan Z was one of the most hotly anticipated new vehicles released this year and opens the seventh chapter of the hallowed Z-car lineage.
Designed in honour of previous generations, the new Z coupe blends modern but iconic styling with an effortlessly strong new twin-turbo 3.0-litre petrol V6 churning out a Toyota Supra-scaring 298kW/475Nm.
A now-rare six-speed manual transmission was available from launch (and is now matched by the Supra) and it’s comfortably our preferred option over the nine-speed automatic – even though the auto is quicker – but it remains to be seen how many purists still prefer driver engagement over all else.
4. Tesla Model Y
The 2022 Tesla Model Y was always going to be a recipe for success in this SUV-crazed market, given it offers all the same goodness as the Model 3 sedan – Australia’s top-selling EV – in a higher-riding wagon package.
Competitively priced and great to drive, the Model Y also happens to be the safest vehicle on Australian roads at the moment according to independent auto safety body ANCAP, which awarded it an overall crash test score of 92.6 per cent.
Model Ys have been flying out of showrooms like free hot cakes, so much so that the battery-powered mid-size luxury SUV was among the top 10 best-selling new vehicles in the country last month.
5. BYD Atto 3
There was a heap of hype surrounding the Australian arrival of the ground-breaking 2022 BYD Atto, which was expected to be the nation’s most affordable battery-electric vehicle.
While it ultimately fell short of that claim – leaving the title to another small Chinese electric SUV, the MG ZS EV – for now it’s still the cheapest bespoke EV available.
Pricing starts from $44,381 before on-road costs and tops out at $48,011, meaning that even the most expensive version is eligible for various state and territory EV incentives that lower the asking prices even further.
Driving range varies between 320 and 420km depending on the variant, which is far from Tesla-baiting but still provides more than enough for the average Aussie to go about their day.
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Keyword: Top five new model releases of 2022