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Wheels Car of the Year

Coty 1963 2022 1422 X 948

COTY: Past winners

The annual Wheels Car of the Year is one of the world’s longest-running automotive awards, with a history that stretches back to 1963.

That makes our award the grand old age of 60 and in that time a broad spectrum of cars have earned the title, ranging from obvious choices to properly left-of-field. Holden Camira, anyone?

The common thread among all of them, however, is that they were good enough to be judged the best of their time by a panel of Australia’s most seasoned motoring journalists. Here’s the list.

All COTY stories

2023 COTY Small Cars Peugeot 308 Audi A 3 RS 3 Skoda Fabia Monte Carlo 230131 N Jacobs WHLS COTY 9950 HR
COTY

Australia's best small cars rock up for Wheels Car of the Year 2023

They used to win our gong all the time but how does the current crop of small cars fare at COTY?

2023 COTY Group Set Up BRU LOW RES 11
COTY

The best electric cars at Wheels Car of the Year 2023

Our favourite electric cars line up at Car of the Year. Here’s how they stack up

2023 COTY Group Set Up BRU LOW RES 24
COTY

The best sports cars at Wheels Car of the Year 2023

Affordable driver-focused thrills has been a winning recipe at COTY before. How does this year’s batch of affordable sports cars fare?

2023 Ford Ranger XLT and Ford Ranger Raptor group
COTY

2023 Ford Ranger: How Australia’s favourite ute fared at Car of the Year

It’s the first ever dual-cab to line up at COTY. So how did it rate?

2023 COTY Group Set Up E Dewar 230201 COTY Wheels 2971 7
COTY

2023’s best SUVs at Wheels Car of the Year

They’re part of the biggest-selling segment in Australia, and at COTY we have six of the year’s true standout SUVs

2023 Tesla Model Y SUV COTY BRU LOW RES 42
COTY

2023 Tesla Model Y review: Wheels Car of the Year finalist

Popular electric car gives Elon a real shot at winning his first COTY. Here’s why the Model Y just fell short

2023 Nissan X Trail SUV COTY E Dewar 230130 COTY Wheels 19
COTY

2023 Nissan X-Trail review: Wheels Car of the Year finalist

🥉 The new generation of Nissan’s iconic mid-size SUV nabbed a COTY podium. Here’s how.

2023 Cupra Formentor SUV BRU LOW RES 58
COTY

2023 Cupra Formentor: How it almost won our Car of the Year

🥈 This Spanish newcomer snagged second place in our top award. Here’s why.

2023 Ford Everest SUV COTY E Dewar 230210 COTY Wheels 45 With Logo 4
COTY

2023 Ford Everest: Wheels Car of the Year winner

Brilliant large SUV that’s designed for Australians by Australians snags Ford its first COTY since 2004. Here’s why.

2023 Range Rover P 530 First Edition SUV COTY E Dewar 230131 COTY Wheels 8668
COTY

Wheels Car of the Year 2023: 'The moose test' – swerve & avoid

We ran each contender through a challenging swerve & avoid test. The results were surprising…

2023 COTY Group Set Up BRU LOW RES 32
COTY

Wheels Car of the Year 2023 by the numbers: Acceleration and braking

What are the quickest and slowest cars in the 2023 field? And which contender took a staggering 51.7m to stop from 100kmh? The numbers don’t lie…

Wheels Coty 2023 Wheels Car Of The Year 2023 Finalists Group Dynamic 230131 N Jacobs WHLS COTY 1486 HR
COTY

Wheels Car of the Year 2023: Finalists revealed!

From 17 contenders down to four: these are the cars that impressed us the most at COTY 2023. But who will win…

2023 COTY Group Set Up GROUP SHOT CB
COTY

Wheels COTY: What’s new for 2023

We’ve tweaked what’s eligible and overhauled the criteria as COTY roars back at full noise for 2023

2023 BMW X 1 S Drive 20 I SUV Blue 1 2211 Bmwx 1
COTY

Wheels COTY 2023: Who missed out

Wondering why a particular car isn’t in contention for COTY 2023? Wonder no more…

2023 COTY Contenders 230131 N Jacobs WHLS COTY 1214 WEB
COTY

Introducing Wheels Car of the Year 2023: The Contenders

Our top gong is back for ’23. Here’s who made the starting grid

C Brunelli 220321 COTY 2022 Toyota Landcruiser 300 Series 47
COTY

2022 Wheels Car of the Year contender: Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series

Tackles a wide brown land with minimal messing of the formula

A Brook 220211 COTY 2022 Subaru Outback 1
COTY

2022 Wheels Car of the Year contender: Subaru Outback

Better at pleasing owners than wooing judges

C Brunelli 220321 COTY 2022 Skoda Octavia 18
COTY

2022 Wheels Car of the Year contender: Skoda Octavia wagon

Bristles with a breadth of talent, if not quite true greatness

A Brook 220210 COTY 2022 Subaru BRZ 11
COTY

2022 Wheels Car of the Year contender: Subaru BRZ

A top sport that couldn’t quite resurrect its glory of 2012

E Dewar 220211 COTY 2022 Polestar 2 46
COTY

2022 Wheels Car of the Year contender: Polestar 2

Intriguing Swede impresses, but is outshone by Korean rivals

C Brunelli 220321 COTY 2022 Porsche Taycan 8
COTY

2022 Car of the Year contender: Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo

Proof positive that Porsche DNA can be electrified

E Dewar 220211 COTY 2022 Mercedes Benz S Class S 450 15
COTY

2022 Wheels Car of the Year contender: Mercedes-Benz S-Class

An endangered species, beautifully executed

C Brunelli 220321 COTY 2022 Mazda MX 30 45
COTY

2022 Wheels Car of the Year contender: Mazda MX-30

Short range and high price take their combined toll on quirky EV

C Brunelli 220321 COTY 2022 Kia Sportage 16
COTY

2022 Wheels Car of the Year contender: Kia Sportage

A giant leap for Sportage, but only a small step for mid-size SUVs