Times Five
The Toyota Yaris took out this year’s top prize, but what has won it before? Damien O’Carroll looks at the five previous Stuff Top Car winners.
2019: Toyota RAV4
The RAV4 was one of the first new Toyotas to inherit the TNGA (Toyota Next Generation Architecture) platform after the Prius and Corolla, and it transformed the previously dowdy SUV into something rather more special.
The addition of a long-awaited hybrid model sent the RAV4’s sales to private buyers soaring higher than ever, with a waiting list extending into this year.
It looked like we might have made a bad call when the RAV4 failed the infamous Moose Test, but a simple software update to recalibrate some slow reactions from the stability control system was all that was needed for it to pass the test with flying colours.
2018: Volkswagen Polo
You could say that 2018 was the year the Volkswagen Polo grew up, both figuratively and literally.
Not only did the smallest car Volkswagen offers here get remarkably refined and even more composed, it also got considerably bigger in every dimension.
Luckily, it also remained incredibly agile and an absolute blast to drive in all forms, but particularly the awesome GTI.
It wasn’t all sweetness and light, however, because the manual transmission was a disappointment, with a slow, clunky shift action that took the shine off and made the entry-grade car less impressive than it should have been.
2017: Skoda Kodiaq
It’s not often you can describe an SUV as dynamically interesting and – gasp – actually quite fun to drive, but Skoda nailed exactly that with the Kodiaq back in 2017.
Sitting right on the line between a medium and large SUV, the Kodiaq boasted a range of fantastic engines, some truly superb (sorry) build quality and impressive levels of standard equipment for its segment and price.
It did suffer from the lurking spectre of that traditional VW Audi group turbo lag on the diesel models, but once you learned to deal with it (hint: roll the throttle on, don’t just nail it) it was never actually a problem.
2016: Holden Spark
Back in 2016, the Holden Spark was all new and redefined the parameters for the compact car segment with its equipment levels, on-road composure and sharp pricing (it started at just $16,490 and topped out at $19,990).
It was also a bundle of laughs to drive, with responsive steering and a delightfully agile chassis.
OK, so it had a CVT transmission back when they were still a byword for depression and Holden later chose to take the Mitsubishi path to keeping it relevant – that is, adding more chrome – rather than actually updating it, but it remained a great (albeit unappreciated) little car right up until Holden shuffled off the stage.
2015: Volvo XC90
Back in 2015, Stuff’s Top Cars didn’t exist and New Zealand Autocar magazine was part of the family, so the AMI Insurance Autocar Car of the Year was our top award.
That year it went to the deeply impressive Volvo XC60, a vehicle that proved Volvo wasn’t just back, but it could also design one hellishly handsome SUV. The sixes and V8s from the previous model were out, replaced by a range of powerful and smooth 2.0-litre turbo fours in both petrol and diesel forms.
Plus Volvo called the cool sideways T-shaped LED segments in the headlights ‘‘Thor’s Hammer’’, which was just awesome.