The 2011 Australia’s Best Cars award winners have been announced, with the Australian Ford Falcon EcoLPi coming out on top of its category, while most of the other categories are dominated by German makes such as Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz.
Australia’s Best Cars awards are put together by an independent organisation made up of the country’s biggest motoring clubs, including the NRMA, RACV, RACQ, RAA, RAC, and RACT. The rankings are collated from results of a three-stage marking criteria, including ‘value for money’ (price, warranty, depreciation and insurance and so on), ‘design and function’ (safety, environment, ergonomics, build quality), and ‘on the road performance’ (performance, handling braking).
The winner for the Best Light Car Under $20,000 is the Kia Rio Si. It comes with a 1.6-litre four-cylinder engine with an average fuel consumption rating of 5.6L/100km. It’s available from $18,990 and comes with ANCAP five-star safety. Best Light Car Over $20,000 is the Volkswagen Polo 66TDI. It comes with a fuel-efficient 1.6-litre turbo-diesel engine producing 66kW and 230Nm. It’s also rated five stars for safety and has an fuel consumption rating of 4.7L/100km. It’s available from $22, 350.
Making up the Best Small Car range, in both the Under $35,000 and Over $35,000 is the Volkswagen Golf 90 TSI and Lexus CT 200h, respectively. The Golf, available from $27,490, comes with a 1.4-litre turbocharged petrol engine producing 90kW/200Nm, and boasts an average fuel consumption rating of 6.2L/100km. The Lexus CT 200h, with its hybrid drive system, produces 100kW/142Nm, and has a fuel rating of just 4.1L/100km. It’s available from $39,990.
Best Medium Car Under and Over $60,000 is the Volkswagen Jetta 118 TSI and the Mercedes-Benz C250 CDI Avantarde. The Volkswagen is available from $32,490 and comes with a 1.4-litre turbo and supercharged engine producing 118kW/240Nm. It’s average fuel consumption has been rated at 6.2L/100km. As for the Mercedes-Benz, it comes with a 2.2-litre turbo-diesel producing 150kW/500Nm, offering an average fuel consumption of 5.1L/100km and is available from $67,900.
For Best Large Car Under $60,000 it is the super-efficient Ford FG Falcon EcoLPi. It’s available from $42,790 and comes with an LPG-power 4.0-litre six cylinder producing 198kW/405Nm. It comes with five-star safety and a fuel consumption average of 12.5L/100km on LPG. Best Large Car Over $60,000 is the Audi A6 3.0 TDI, coming equipped with a 3.0-litre turbo-diesel V6 engine producing 180kW/500Nm. It’s available from $116,500.
Best People Mover is the Hyundai iMax fitted with a 2.5-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine and a five-speed automatic transmission. It produces 125kW/392Nm and is available from $42,490.
Best Sports Car Under $80,000 is the BMW 135i Coupe. It comes with a 3.0-litre turbocharged six cylinder, producing 225kW/.400Nm. It uses an average of 8.5L/100km of fuel and is available from $75,000.
Taking out the Best Sports Car Over $80,000 is the mighty Mercedes-Benz C 63 AMG Coupe. It comes with a 6.2-litre V8 engine producing 336kW/600Nm, and uses an average of 12.1L/100km. It’s available from $154,800.
Awarded the Best SUV Over and Under $40,000 is the Volkswagen Tiguan 103 TDI and Kia Sorento SLi. The Volkswagen comes with a 2.0-litre turbo-diesel producing 103kW/320Nm and is available from $38,490. While the Kia comes with a 2.2-litre turbo-diesel producing 145kW/422Nm and is available from $46,190.
And lastly, the Best Luxury SUV Over and Under $60,000 winners this year were the Volkswagen Touareg V6 TDI and Land Rover Discovery 4 SDV6 SE, respectively. The Volkswagen comes with a 3.0-litre turbo-diesel V6 producing 150kW/400Nm, while the Land Rover also comes with a 3.0-litre turbo-diesel V6, only it produces 180kW/600Nm.
There’s certainly some interesting winners in the 2011 Australia’s Best Cars awards, with plenty of Volkswagen vehicles. What do you think about the results? Any changes that you would make?