Drive Car of the Year 2024 is a go!

Electric vehicles are shaking up the automotive status quo, and they’re also impacting Drive Car of the Year, Australia’s longest-running consumer automotive award.

The 2023 Drive Car of the Year field (pictured) was the biggest ever, and 2024 promises to be even bigger!

Drive’s annual Car of the Year awards program is getting its biggest refresh in a decade, and we’ve got electric vehicles to thank for it.

As you’ll read below, we’re normalising EVs this year, but that’s far from the only update as we continue the refinements that make Drive Car of the Year the Australian new car buyer’s most powerful weapon. This year’s awards program sees nine categories introduced or updated and three categories retired – including two enthusiast favourites – as Drive Car of the Year evolves apace with consumer tastes and expectations.

We’re also expanding our testing program and drilling further in each category to ensure that Drive Car of the Year remains the most rigorous and incisive spotlight on new car value, quality and competence. From next Monday November 13, we will take a closer look at each of the 18 categories. We’ll also highlight the new and updated cars that will give the judges a hard time as they fight for the coveted title of Australia’s Best.

For now, let’s go through the major changes and explain why they’re necessary.

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Electric Vehicles break into the mainstream

This year, we are normalising Electric Vehicles. That’s right, EVs will no longer be segregated from the mainstream; they are the mainstream as far as Drive is concerned and should be assessed that way. The justification for this is simple: Australians increasingly see electric vehicles as a natural alternative to cars with internal combustion engines. So, we need to compare and consider them accordingly.

That said, Australian new car buyers fall into two camps: those who want the best car for their needs, and those who want the best EV for their needs. Take Medium SUVs, for instance. For the first time, Australian consumers with a $50,000 budget can choose petrol, diesel, hybrid and pure electric powertrains. The same goes for City Cars and Small Luxury SUVs, and it’s only a matter of time before EVs penetrate other prominent market segments. 

So we’re giving EVs the right to compete in the vehicle class they belong to, irrespective of powertrain. But we also know that some consumers restrict their choices to EVs only. So, to cater to those buyers, we’re maintaining four EV-only categories.

This does give EVs two bites at the cherry, which some may view as unfair. Consider it a transitional anomaly. In 2025 or 2026, we expect EVs to have transitioned from alternative to mainstream in most consumers’ eyes.

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There can be only one winner

In previous years, we’ve crowned entire model ranges as winners in mainstream categories. We know that highlighting an entire car range as a category winner helps consumers head in the right direction, but it leaves an obvious question unanswered: Which variant is the best to buy? This year, we’ll answer that question, too.

This year, we will shine the Drive Car of the Year spotlight on the specific variant in each winning range that our judges deem the best value for money. 

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Eighteen categories, five new and updated

We’ve evolved some categories and adjusted the price band of others to better cater to the wide range of consumer tastes and budgets, and so we can provide more targeted advice to more Australians.

Three categories from last year are not returning this year, for very different reasons. The first is Best Medium to Large Car because there was no new or significantly updated model activity in this class for the third year running, perhaps a reflection of a 60 per cent sales decline over the last decade?

The second and third categories to be benched are potentially more controversial, but we’ve done it with a higher purpose in mind. Read on…

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Performance cars pitted

We’ve mothballed our two performance car categories – Best Hot Hatch and Best Sports Coupe – which wasn’t an easy decision. These cars are the emotional pulse of Australian auto enthusiasts.

But “emotion” is ultimately why we decided to withdraw them from the Drive Car of the Year program. Emotion plays a minimal role in Drive Car of the Year evaluation. Instead, we’re led by our heads when weighing the merits of the contenders.

Put simply, subjecting emotional machines to the pragmatically-focused lens of Drive Car of the Year is like picking a restaurant based on the quality of its plumbing. The only time dynamic prowess delivers a result is if a car drives so poorly we wouldn’t wish it on our landlord’s lawyer’s mother-in-law.

Instead, we’ll hold a separate sports and luxury celebration sometime in 2024 that frees these cars from practical constraints and recognises the emotional highs they deliver to drivers.

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Testing program expanded

Drive Car of the Year’s constant drive for improvement has triggered an expansion of the testing program to more fully encompass the entire year. In previous years, we would gather the 50+ contenders together in one place for a week of intensive testing. This year, we’re putting more emphasis on our regular in-year road-testing program by requiring our reviewers to consider a vehicle’s merits against the Drive Car of the Year criteria each and every time they drive one.

In reality, this means that more judges will spend more time judging eligible vehicles than is humanly possible in one single testing week, no matter how intensive that week is. For example, we may test drive a particular model four or five times throughout the year in all its variations, plus any launches we attend and comparisons we conduct.

This means that every time a car is driven by a judge, it is being assessed for Drive Car of the Year.  

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One thing is not changing

Drive’s Car of the Year awards program is about highlighting the best new cars for Australian consumers. It is Australia’s most comprehensive awards program and, therefore, is the only one you should trust with your next purchase decision.

So bookmark this page and return here from November 13 as Drive rolls out the contenders for the 2024 Drive Car of the Year awards.

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Ken Block’s final ‘Gymkhana’ video to be released next month

The last ‘Gymkhana’ video to feature the late stunt driver and automotive YouTube star Ken Block is due to be released in December.

Almost a year after YouTube stunt-driving star Ken Block died in a snowmobile crash, the entrepreneur-turned-race driver’s final ‘Gymkhana’ drift video will be released in December.

In a video uploaded to YouTube, Hoonigan – the clothing-turned-production company founded by Block – previewed what will be the last drift film to feature its founder, recorded late in 2022 before his untimely death.

Titled ‘Electrikhana Two’, it appears to be an evolution of the first ‘Electrikhana’ video which was released in October last year – the first of the ‘Gymkhana’ series to feature Block driving an Audi, the custom-built battery-powered S1 ‘Hoonitron’.

MORE: The Top 12 Ken Block ‘Gymkhana’ videos

Though the first Electrikhana instalment wasn’t as well received as earlier videos of Block in high-power petrol Subarus and Fords, it became symbolic of his ability to drift anything and perform stunts in unexpected locations.

While the partnership between Block and Audi was expected to become a new chapter between the internet sensation and German car maker – which has a deep history in motorsports – the 55-year-old was killed on 2 January 2023 in a snowmobile crash near his Utah home.

Block’s wife Lucy and teenage daughter Lia have continued to race rally cars in the US this year, raising awareness for the 43 Institute – also known as the Ken Block foundation – partnering with Block’s former co-driver Alex Gelsomino and his Australian wife Rhiannon Gelsomino, respectively. 

Hoonigan – which Block founded in 2010 as an automotive lifestyle and clothing business with Gymkhana co-creator Brian Scotto – is yet to confirm a specific release date for Electrikhana Two.

A tribute video posted by Hoonigan to YouTube shortly after Block’s passing can be watched below.

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US car-makers claim AM radio will cost billions to keep in electric vehicles

A lobby group for the biggest car-makers in the US claims forcing brands to keep AM radio in electric vehicles will cost billions of dollars by the end of the decade – but law-makers are throwing their support behind legislation to mandate the broadcast technology in all new models.

A new report sponsored by some of the largest automotive brands in the US has claimed car-makers could be forced to spend billions of dollars by 2030 if they are required to keep AM radio functionality in their vehicles.

More electric cars are being sold without AM radio in the US and Australia, with car-makers claiming the interference caused by electric motors can disrupt the signal.

In May 2023, US senators introduced a bill to mandate the broadcast technology – which can act as a reliable back-up for emergency alerts during natural disasters in remote areas where there is no phone signal – in all new cars, which is yet to be legislated but is receiving bipartisan support.

MORE: Renewed calls to mandate AM radio in cars as the simple but reliable tech disappears

Automotive News reports the Center for Automotive Research (CAR) released a study last month which claimed US car-makers may end up spending up to $US3.8 billion ($AU5.9 billion) combined by the end of the decade to ensure AM radios work in electric vehicles.

While the interference from electric motors can be reduced through shielding cables and noise cancellation, an unnamed car-maker told Automotive News these costs could amount to $US50 to $US70 ($AU78 to $AU109) per car.

“These costs can be avoided by deleting analog AM radio from vehicles and providing consumers with alternative products for in-vehicle audio content,” CAR’s report said.

However, while CAR is an independent body, the report was released in partnership with the Alliance for Automotive Innovation (AAI) – an automotive industry lobby group which lists almost all major car-makers in the US as its members, as well as digital media provider Sirius XM and numerous tech giants.

As reported by Automotive News, AAI CEO John Bozella criticised the proposed legislation in an online blog post, questioning AM radio’s place as a safety technology.

“Requirements for airbags, brakes, side impact protection, seat belts and other life-saving vehicle safety systems? Yes,” Mr Bozzella wrote online.

“But forcing automakers to install analogue AM radio tuners in all new vehicles – including electric vehicles? The government has never gone there before.”

As previously reported by Drive, there are also a number of petrol and diesel cars currently on sale in Australia and overseas without AM radio.

Tesla, Volvo and Polestar do not offer AM radio across their Australian line-ups, while certain Peugeots (308, 508 and 2008), Citroens (C4, C5 X and C5 Aircross Sport) and Volkswagen Group models (Cupra Born, VW Arteon, T6.1 and Caddy) are also sold locally without the simple-but-effective technology.

In all of the above cases, the decision to drop AM radio appears to be a cost-cutting measure, given most similar vehicles from rival brands have retained AM radio capability.

While AM radio is perceived as outdated broadcast technology, it has a much longer range than FM radio – allowing information about life-threatening emergencies and natural disasters to be broadcast across greater distances without interruption. 

It is especially useful in areas where there is no phone signal, or where a mobile phone signal could easily get cut off.

A recent Australian Government report found AM radio – one of the oldest formats of broadcast technology – still plays a life-saving role for motorists during emergencies and natural disasters because its frequencies can travel further than other forms of communication and from fewer transmission towers.

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Icons of the road: The Aussie ute | Drive Flashback

Australia didn’t quite invent the ute, but we sure as hell perfected it and made it our very own.

Original story by Peter McKay published in Drive on 21 August, 1999

The ute is said to be a uniquely Australian invention (as compared to the American pick-up). However, the argument continues to rage in pubs and at backyard barbecues across the country about who invented it – Ford or Holden.

So, to the pitiful sounds of Holden wrists being slashed across the nation, the truth is that the launch of Ford’s 1934 Coupe was the birth of our national icon, a fact recognised by Aussie Post and honoured by a commemorative stamp in 1997.

More: Icons of the road

With its sweeping flared guards and gleaming chrome features, the Ford ute was an attractive vehicle by anyone’s standards.

Based upon the legendary 1932 US ‘Deuce Coupe’, it was the only model in its field to boast a V8 engine (much to the anguish of its Dodge and Chevy competitors).

With power to burn, it was the ideal rural vehicle – gutsy, reliable and perfect to cover yourself in the muck and manure of a typical day on the land. Farmers were as happy as a pig in the proverbial.

Sixty-five years on (Ed: Almost 90 years now), the original ’34 Ford can take pride in having spawned millions of utes nationwide.

Despite its legendary status, however, recent evidence suggests that the real reason Australia needed the ute had little to do with transporting farm produce.

The truth is, a keg of beer wouldn’t fit into the back of the sedan. Peter McKay

So, what happened next?

From humble beginnings, Australia’s love affair with the ute has grown to what would seem like unimaginable proportions to its original designer, Louis ‘Lew’ Bandt (pictured below, with his beloved Ford Coupe Utility).

Long a mainstay on worksites and in driveways around Australia, today the utility is the number one-selling vehicle of any kind in the country.

Fittingly, it’s the modern iteration of that 1934 progenitor that currently holds the mantle as Australia’s best-selling car – the Ford Ranger.

Increasingly pressed into service as a ‘lifestyle’ vehicle – workhorses during the week and go-anywhere adventure utes on weekends – today’s utilities bear little resemblance to the original 1934 Ford Coupe Utility. But its philosophy remains the same – providing a comfortable and weather-protected cabin with space in the back to “take the pigs to market on Monday” as per Bandt’s original brief.

It’s worth pointing out, the utility isn’t a uniquely Australian invention. Plenty of carmakers around the world were adding trays and utility bodies on to the back of passenger car chassis. Even Ford in the US had its own Model T-based pick-up truck (pictured below).

But, where the Australian design differed – and was uniquely first in the automotive landscape – was in adding a utility body to an existing car with an enclosed cabin, bringing unparalleled levels of comfort to what was otherwise a rudimentary segment.

Pour one out for Lew Bandt, then, whose idea was copied the world over. The ute, as we fondly think of it, was born.

Before I finish, a note on the term ‘ute’ and ‘utility’. Today’s ‘utes’ are, strictly speaking, not so. As a uniquely Australian term, a ‘ute’, by definition is “usually two-wheel-drive, traditionally passenger vehicles with a cargo tray in the rear integrated with the passenger body”. And that sounds about right when considering Australia’s long history with the utility.

Today’s iterations are, strictly speaking, “pick-ups” based as they are on America’s beloved vehicle of choice where Ford’s F-Series pick-ups continue to dominate the market in the same way our Ford Ranger ute does here. See what I did there?

Whatever your preferred vernacular, the Aussie ute holds a special place in our heart, a true icon of the road. RM

More: Icons of the road

What are your memories of the humble Aussie ute? Let us know in the comments below.

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Ferrari delivers more hybrid supercars than petrol-only models for the first time

The plug-in hybrid Ferrari 296 and SF90 supercars outsold the car-maker’s four petrol-only models last quarter – but an upcoming production increase for the Purosangue SUV could reverse the trend once again.

Ferrari 296 GTB

For the first time in the eight-decade history of Ferrari, the Italian car-maker delivered more hybrid models than petrol-only vehicles across a three-month period.

During a financial presentation earlier this week, Ferrari announced it had delivered 3459 cars to customers globally between July and September 2023 – 67 of which came to Australia – with hybrid models accounting for 51 per cent the overall figure.

According to Ferrari, the boost in overall deliveries was driven by increased supply and demand of its 296 GTB/GTS and SF90 Stradale/Spider supercars, which are the Italian car-maker’s only two hybrid model line-ups currently on sale.

Ferrari SF90 Spider

While the Ferrari 296 and SF90 are equipped with plug-in hybrid systems – which allow them to drive in electric-only mode for limited distances – the marque’s remaining models such as the 812, Roma and Purosangue remain without electrified technology for now.

Despite hybrid models taking the sales lead for now, Ferrari says production of the limited-edition 812 Competizione A convertible and the Purosangue SUV is due to ramp up soon, meaning the petrol-only nameplates could once again get in front of their petrol-only siblings.

The Ferrari Purosangue in particular is expected to be one of the most popular models in the brand’s history, as order books for the SUV were closed for six months just a matter of weeks after it was revealed, and wait times stretch to 2026.

Ferrari Purosangue

Ferrari has previously announced it will limit production of the Purosangue to 20 per cent of its overall output, despite rival Italian brand Lamborghini prioritising production of its Urus SUV, which accounted for more than half of the company’s deliveries in 2022.

As previously reported, Ferrari plans to unveil its first electric car in 2025, and is targeting exclusively battery-powered models to account for 40 per cent of its total sales by 2030.

Last month, Ferrari’s US division introduced digital currency Bitcoin as a payment method following lobbying from customers, with the cryptocurrency to be rolled out in Europe in the future.

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US documentary to explore the billion-dollar business of Formula One

If Drive to Survive is Formula One’s version of a soap opera, a new US documentary plans to show the sport in a more realistic light.

Photo by Qian Jun/MB Media/Getty Images

A new Formula One documentary will provide fans of the sport with a behind-the-scenes look at how the world’s largest motorsport category works as a business – though it’s not yet known whether it will be shown in Australia.

While streaming giant Netflix has ushered in a new generation of Formula One fans with its ‘Drive to Survive’ series, the dramatised show doesn’t provide an insight into how the sport works financially, with the billions of dollars invested by sponsors, investors and governments going seemingly unmentioned.

Hosted by CNBC financial news reporter and anchor Sara Eisen, Inside Track: The Business of Formula 1 will not only show how the sport gets fans trackside, but also how it makes its money and engages fans away from the circuit.

Ms Eisen also interviews Susie Wolff – the managing director of the F1 Academy series, and the most recent woman to drive a Formula One car during an official race weekend – about female drivers in motorsport.

The documentary will investigate the 2017 takeover of Formula One by US firm Liberty Media – who acquired the sport from long-time supremo Bernie Ecclestone – and how the sport has attempted to break into the US market, now hosting three races per year in the country.

According to CNBC, the documentary will air on November 16 local time, just one day before the first practice session for this year’s 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix – a race which is being tipped as the most expensive for fans all year, with high ticket and accommodation prices.

As CNBC and its parent company Comcast do not have an agreement with any Australian broadcasters to show its programs locally, it is not clear whether local fans will have legal access to watch the documentary.

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Opinion: There’s too much technology in today’s new cars

From mood lighting to overly-complex infotainment systems, today’s new cars are a bewilderment of technology.

It was fun for a while, a novelty even, but I, like so many others, am becoming increasingly frustrated by the sheer volume of technology bundled into today’s new cars.

And my frustration isn’t aimed purely at safety technologies or at increasingly complex infotainment systems. It’s aimed at everything, including the added cost to new cars.

What’s a few microchips between friends, I hear you ask?

Close to half of a new car’s price, and rising, is the answer.

A 2020 Deloitte study revealed that in 2017, around 40 per cent of a new car’s cost is made up of electronics systems powered by semiconductors. Forty per cent! That’s up from 18 per cent in 2000, and 20 per cent in 2007. Worse still, Deloitte’s white paper projected that it will reach 45 per cent by 2030.

And you wonder where all the affordable cars have gone?

But in what is becoming a semiconductor arms race, carmakers are adding ever more technologies we don’t actually need – or want – into their new car ranges.

And I’m not talking about advanced safety technologies, systems that have the potential to avoid accidents and save lives. Technologies such as autonomous emergency braking, lane-keeping assist, blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert all have their place in today’s automotive world.

Yes, some of them can be a little too trigger happy, nudging you into your lane, as an example, despite you having your car perfectly positioned between lane markings. Or speed sign recognition systems that pick up exit ramp speeds when you’re legally driving at 110km/h and start violently and urgently beeping at you to slow down. Flawed, and until the technology can be developed to recognise the difference between a 40km/h sign plastered on the back of a bus and the real indicated speed limit, useless.

Configurable ambient lighting with 30 or more colours? Pointless. Pick a colour, and stick with it please, carmakers. We don’t need to tailor the cabin with a spectrum designed to complement whatever mood we’re in. You want to know my mood? It’s black, black at the thought of all that pointless technology that has seen new car prices increase to the point where affordability is becoming an issue for the average person.

But I’ll reserve my biggest gripe for the proliferation of ever increasingly complex infotainment systems which seem to grow more complex every week, stuffed with an array of largely useless features most of us, I’d posit, will never use. Gesture control anyone? Get in the bin.

As for burying climate functions and audio controls within a menu structure that would bamboozle even the most tech-savvy Gen Z’er. There’s a bin over there, with your name on it.

And infotainment systems that feature some kind of video game, complete with 1980s chunky graphics? Why? What. Is. The. Point?

I do find it odd and somewhat ironic that in an age where even daring to take a glance at your smartphone while driving will land you in jail (okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration, but you get my point), we are completely fine with infotainment systems that require a level of interaction that can be equally as distracting as using your smartphone while on the move.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for the strict rules governing phones in cars which can be a dangerous distraction to anyone driving. But please, don’t give me a system that can prove just as, if not even more, of a distraction.

The solution, to my mind, is pretty simple. Give me a touchscreen that does nothing but mirror my smartphone. And make it wired (wireless mirroring isn’t infallible) and do away with wireless charging pads (they’re next to useless and most make your phone incredibly hot).

That way I can listen to my preferred radio station via their preferred app. Or I can stream my music via whatever streaming service I use. Route guidance is taken care of via Google Maps or Waze, both infinitely better than any native sat-nav I’ve met, and I can make and receive phone calls and text messages via voice commands.

And, it seems I’m not alone. Earlier this year, a JD Power’s survey revealed that the majority of car owners are becoming increasingly dissatisfied with their vehicle’s infotainment systems.

JD Power’s Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study revealed overall satisfaction among car owners is sitting at 845 points (out of a possible 1000). That represents a decrease of one point from 2022 and three points when compared with 2021. It’s the first time in the report’s 28-year history that car owner satisfaction has dropped in two consecutive years.

The survey also revealed that more and more owners are relying on smartphone mirroring as their primary source of infotainment, with just 56 per cent responding they use their system’s inbuilt features. Just three years ago, in 2020, that number sat at 70 per cent.

Now, admittedly, JD Power’s survey of 84,555 owners of new 2023 model year cars is based solely on US-based respondents. But, it’s hard not to feel the sentiment in Australia would be similar.

So how about it carmakers? Stop trying to impress us with ever-larger screens with ever more ‘functionality’ (inverted commas are deliberate) that do little but add to the bottom line and your profitability. Call an end to the semiconductor escalation and give the buying public more affordable cars. Better yet, invest the money saved into, I don’t know, chassis and suspension development, or a dual-clutch transmission that actually works. Your buyers will thank you.

What do you think? Are you becoming frustrated by the technology built into today’s new cars? Let us know in the comments below.

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