The winners of the 2008 Australia’s Best Cars Awards have been named, with Mazda, Hyundai, Audi and BMW each scooping two awards.
Audi drove away with the luxury sports and prestige car awards, while Mazda and Hyundai dominated the small car and mid-size car categories. BMW took the best sports car and luxury 4wd awards.
Now in its ninth year, the Australia’s Best Cars Awards are Australia’s most thorough, independent, consumer-oriented guide to the best new cars on the market, as judged by the RAC and the nation’s motoring clubs.
Expert judges from the Australian Automobile Association and its constituent clubs assessed more than 280 vehicles throughout the year before selecting the winning cars in twelve award categories.
The winning cars are judged on a range of criteria including safety, fuel economy, quality and performance. Safety was a key feature this year, with the winning vehicles achieving a minimum 4-star ANCAP rating where tested.
Vehicle Policy manager Mike Upton said “These awards are completely independent and give people good, reliable information to use when choosing a new car.
“Manufacturers have responded to this and the quality of the field was exceptionally high. Safety was a particularly high-scoring feature.
“The bar has been raised this year and we will continue to work with the manufacturers to deliver safer and better cars for our members."
The twelve winning vehicles for 2008 are: