Choosing NZ’s hottest wheels

Driven car parks are under intense pressure this month as we assess cars for this year’s AA/Driven New Zealand Car of the Year award.

NZME colleagues have been asking why so many new cars are coming and going, and the answer is we’re sampling a vast number of new models in quick succession.

Liz Dobson, Colin Smith, Matthew Hansen and myself are among the judges for what will be the year’s premier car of the year award. We will be joined by former

Driven editor Alastair Sloane, former Top Gear magazine editor Cameron Officer, veteran freelancers Paul Owen and Jacqui Madelin, and AA Motoring adviser Cade Wilson.

The judges have decades of experience driving and writing about new vehicles, and are applying that experience while assessing the contenders.

The 10 finalists will be announced early next month. The Car of the Year and Best in Class categories, alongside the publically voted People’s Choice Award, will be announced at a cocktail event on December 12.

The nation’s safest car, as determined by ANCAP scoring, will also be announced that night.

The 10 finalists will take part in a comprehensive trial both on road and at the Pukekohe Park Raceway early next month.

Vehicles launched into the New Zealand market between October 1 last year and September 30 this year are eligible for the award.

If manufacturer interest in the awards is an early indicator, it will be one of the most hotlycontested car of the year awards ever.