CHANGING OF THE GUARD
As the car industry pivots away from petrol power, five new arrivals compete for EV of the Year
It’s a sign of the times that Car of the Year has gone electric. Or, at least, a part of it. This year marks the first that we’re embarking on a dedicated test of electric vehicles to determine the EV of the Year. The timing is right. It’s taken more than a decade, but electric cars are finally gaining mainstream interest in Australia.
Tesla sells one of the country’s top-selling passenger cars and six of the top ten manufacturers have plug-in vehicles.
The country’s biggest brand, Toyota, plans to have its first EV next year and its luxury offshoot Lexus joined the party by launching a luxury EV this week. EVS remain an expensive proposition, as most are luxury models with premium prices out of the reach of the average motorist.
But mainstream brands such as Hyundai and Kia are bringing the prices down to more realistic levels.
Charging infrastructure remains a barrier to acceptance but range anxiety is less of an issue as new models arrive, some claiming to travel more than 500km between charges.
Unfortunately, we were unable to include the Tesla Model 3 in our testing because an updated model is yet to arrive in showrooms.
It’s a shame because the existing model is arguably the benchmark.
We’ve chosen five EVS for our final and if they’re good enough, they’ll be pitted against our conventional finalists for the overall title of Car of the Year.
Here are the five contenders that will fight it out to become the EV of 2021.
HYUNDAI IONIQ 5
The Ioniq 5 is the first car from the Hyundai Group built from the ground up as an electric vehicle. The brand’s earlier efforts simply shoehorned an electric motor into an existing petrol vehicle.
Creating the Ioniq 5 from a clean sheet of paper meant the design team could take advantage of the compact motor to liberate more space in the cabin.
The Ioniq 5 looks like a hatchback but is deceptively spacious, boasting more room than many mid-sized SUVS.
Only a few hundred are currently in the country but Hyundai is expecting more next year, including models that slip in below the $71,900 (plus on-road costs) price of the model we’re testing for Car of the Year.
The Ioniq is expensive but loaded with equipment, including heated and electrically adjustable seats front and rear, a panoramic sunroof and a Bose sound system.
The front seat reclines like an aircraft seat, allowing the driver to take a snooze while the car recharges. The cabin is lined with interesting textures made from sustainable materials.
POLESTAR 2 SINGLE MOTOR
The newcomer from Volvo’s EV offshoot has one big target in its crosshairs: the Tesla Model 3. The still-fresh EV start-up is priced identically to its Tesla rival, with prices starting at $59,900 before on-road costs.