Top Cars: the rest of the best
Friday, 4 December 2020
So many categories, so little space – here’s a round up of the other categories we thought rated consideration this year.
Picking one car as a ‘Top Car’ doesn’t suit everybody's situation or requirements when looking for a new car, so this year, as well as our usual Sexiest Car and Top Interior, we decided to take a look at a few top picks for different circumstances.
Sexiest car – Porsche Taycan
Come on, have you seen it? Of course our Top Electric Vehicle was going to take this one out…
**READ MORE:
* Celebrating the best cars of 2020
* The little big winner: the Stuff Top Car for 2020 is the Toyota Yaris
* Top Electric Vehicle: Porsche Taycan
* Top Medium SUV: Mercedes-Benz EQC 400
**
That sleek, sexy shape shows exactly what designers can do when you take that big, unweildy chunk of metal we call an engine out of the way and give them room to drop those swooping low lines even lower. And the result is an absolute triumph.
Top interior – Porsche Taycan
Sure, the Taycan isn’t a cheap vehicle, but it’s simply stunning interior makes you think it is actually more expensive than it really is.
What you have to admire the most here is probably the restraint – Porsche could have come over all sci-fi with the Taycan’s interior, but instead went for a subtly modern twist on their usual interior treatment with the usual quality.
Okay, so the restraint doesn’t apply to the amount of touchscreens scattered around the cabin, but they are awesome so it’s okay. And, yes, you can even option up another one specifically for the front seat passenger…
Top Car for a budget – MG ZS
Okay, so the ZS is technically a small SUV, but the family-sized bang-for-your-buck it packs is deeply impressive.
If you want a new car and need the practicality of an SUV, the ZS is very difficult to overlook, given that it starts at just $22,990 and tops out at $27,990 for the fully-loaded edition. Oh, and it also has New Zealand’s cheapest EV in its range – the $48,990 ZS EV.
And if you don’t need an SUV, then there is always the handsome and well-equipped MG3 hatch that starts at just $17,990.
Top Car for a family – Renault Duster/Land Rover Defender 110
Okay, we’re calling a tie on this one, simply because these two cater to the extreme ends of the family budget.
If you have money to drop on a $100k plus SUV, then a seven-seat-specced Defender is almost a no brainer – huge amounts of space and an almost child-proof ruggedness to its interior are complimented by its practicality and sheer cool factor.
The $27,995 Duster on the other hand offers budget-friendly space and practicality in a comfortable package with some seriously legendary mechanical reliability reported in overseas markets.
Top Car for a commuting lifestyle – Tesla Model 3/Mercedes-Benz EQC
Another tie, but this time because they offer the same qualities: comfort, pure-electric motivation and class-leading driver assists.
Commuting is not driving. It is a daily grind that city-dwellers have to face, so why not do it in a car that is superbly comfortable, can handle a lot of the boring stuff by itself (with supervision, of course) and doesn't pump out any unpleasant emissions while you edge slowly forward?
Top Car for the environment – Toyota Yaris Hybrid
While it is easy to say an EV is ‘best’ for the environment, the arguments for that carry variable weight depending on where the country you are driving it sources its electricity, and they still also have an environment toll via their production as well. Plus they are expensive.
That’s why we reckon in overall terms the Yaris hybrid offers a solid environmentally friendly choice on a budget WAY more people can afford – it uses its battery a LOT around town, but this is electricity it has generated itself (no plugs here) and, yeah, the petrol engine contributes to this, but it uses a tiny amount of fuel anyway.
In terms of overall environmental impact, we reckon more people buying Yaris Hybrids would do more good for the environment than fewer people buying more expensive EVs.
Top non-hybrid Car for fuel efficiency – Toyota Yaris
Oh, come on – this is getting silly, right?
Yeah, it’s not an ad for Toyota, the standard ICE Yaris is still a miserly fuel sipper even without the hybrid system. Toyota claims a combined average fuel consumption of 4.9l/100km for the Yaris and this is particularly easy to match, or even top.
Top performance-per-dollar Car – Ford Fiesta ST
Yep, the same reason it won our Top sports/performance category is the reason the Fiesta ST comes out on top here – seriously good performance for Corolla money.
While the performance per dollar equation stacks up well, the fun per dollar equation is off the charts with the Fiesta ST as well. Of course, that is all good and well, but you do have to remember that the insanely good Toyota GR Yaris just missed the deadline this year and is currently sold out, but in terms of bang-for-your-buck, the more expensive Toyota is seriously good…