THE BIG SWITCH

In a watershed moment for the local car industry, an electric car has been crowned Car of the Year for the first time

Hind

yundai’s Ioniq 5 has made history by becoming the first electric vehicle to win News Corp’s annual Car of the Year award. The Hyundai stood out in a strong field of new vehicles with hybrid, petrol and diesel power. It’s not Hyundai’s first electric car but the Ioniq 5 is the first built on a platform designed from the outset to house an electric motor and batteries.

This year also marked the first year we have awarded an Electric Car of the Year.

Prior to the main event, we compared five of the best new electric cars released this year, before pitting the top two – the Ioniq and

Polestar 2 – against the conventional cars in our field.

Judges examined a field of seven vehicles according to five criteria: value for money, performance, design, technology and safety.

A test loop combined highway motoring with sweeping country bends, a low-speed suburban run and a broad variety of road surfaces. Volvo’s electric car spin-off, Polestar, was a first-time finalist.

Its Polestar 2 is an impressive sedan that is beautifully finished inside and out, delivering luxury-car presentation for a surprisingly affordable price – $64,900 plus on-road costs in long-range, single-motor form with a big battery driving the front wheels. But a firm ride and noisy suspension eroded its appeal.

The Polestar was also compromised by the brand’s decision to charge $5000 for safety features such as blind-spot monitoring, active cruise control and rear cross-traffic alerts fitted to every other finalist as standard.

The Volkswagen Golf, a previous COTY winner, impressed on the road, but its price tag prevented it from making it into our top three.

The eighth-generation Golf is the best car in the hatchback class, helped by a new eightspeed auto and masterfully integrated driver assistance technology.

It was hampered, though, by an engine carried over from the previous model. The cheapest model in today’s Golf line-up costs $34,450 plus on-road costs – about $39,000 drive-away.

That’s lot for a 1.4-litre hatchback, even if it is lovely to drive.

Toyota’s Kluger Hybrid takes a different approach. Prioritising comfort over poise, the seven-seat Kluger builds on the success of

Toyota’s acclaimed RAV4 Hybrid.

Loaded with safety gear, the big Toyota impresses with fuel economy that rivals tiny hatchbacks, even in stop-start city traffic.

But the entry-level GX model tested here felt basic alongside plush opposition and the big unit felt unwieldy on a winding road.

It doesn’t come cheap, either, starting at about $60,000 on the road.

Kia will take on Toyota with a fuel-sipping hybrid version of the medium-sized Sportage in 2022.

Until then, the pick of the range has a punchy turbo diesel engine that sidesteps the turbo petrol version’s sometimes jerky dualclutch auto.

Tested in range-topping Gt-line trim, it impressed judges with a huge curved dualscreen display and clever blind-spot monitoring cameras.

Loaded with features, the Kia’s high price ($54,900 drive-away) and firm ride saw it fall short of a podium place.