Best of carsales' Best Cars awards

Among the hundreds of reviews, thousands of news articles and millions of minutes of video we published this year, some of our most engaged-with stories in 2021 were the carsales 'Best' awards.

Designed to be the ultimate buying guide to help you choose the best vehicle in the shape and size that best suits your needs, the Best awards series of mega-tests is the one-stop shop for all new-car buyers.

Every carsales Best award assesses the top contenders in their respective sales segments against more than 100 criteria across five key areas including safety, technology, comfort and convenience, ownerships costs and driving performance.

Best Dual-Cab 4x4 Ute 2021

Dual-cab 4x4 utes have become the default new-vehicle choice for an increasing number of Aussies, thanks to their combination of versatility, go-anywhere capability and passenger-car-style levels of safety, technology and refinement.

Viewed more than 150,000 times, our 4x4 dual-cab mega-test compared the 11 best utes available in Australia including the Ford Ranger Wildtrak 3.2, GWM Ute Cannon-X, Isuzu D-MAX X-Terrain, Jeep Gladiator Overland, LDV T60 LUXE, Mazda BT-50 GT, Mitsubishi Triton GSR, Nissan Navara ST-X, SsangYong Musso Ultimate, Toyota HiLux SR5 and Volkswagen Amarok Highline V6 TDI580.

See who won Best Dual-Cab 4x4 Ute 2021

Best Small SUV 2021

To determine the carsales Best Small SUV for 2021, our judges compared the best-equipped variant priced under $40,000 from the 12 best models available.

Best Small SUV 2021 contenders included the Ford Puma ST-Line V, Hyundai Kona 2.0 Highlander, Kia Stonic GT-Line, Mazda CX-3 2.0 Akari LE AWD, Mazda CX-30 G20 Astina FWD, MG ZST Essence, Nissan QASHQAI Ti, Skoda Kamiq 110TSI Monte Carlo, Toyota C-HR 1.2 Koba AWD, Toyota Yaris Cross 1.5 Urban AWD, Volkswagen T-Cross 85TSI Style and Volkswagen T-Roc 110TSI Style.

See who won Best Small SUV 2021

Best Mid-Size SUV 2021

We took the 12 best models available in Australia’s single biggest auto sales segment, medium SUVs priced under $60,000.

Best Mid-Size SUV 2021 contenders included the Ford Escape 2.0 Vignale AWD, Honda CR-V 1.5 VTi LX AWD, Hyundai Tucson 1.6 Highlander AWD, Kia Sportage 2.4 GT-Line AWD, Mazda CX-5 2.5 Akera AWD, MG HS 2.0 Essence X AWD, Mitsubishi Outlander 2.4 Exceed AWD, Nissan X-TRAIL 2.5 Ti AWD, Skoda Karoq 2.0 140TSI Sportline AWD, Subaru Forester 2.5i-S AWD, Toyota RAV4 2.5 Edge AWD and Volkswagen Tiguan 2.0 162TSI Elegance AWD.

See who won Best Mid-Size SUV 2021

Best Family SUV 2021

For Best Family SUV for 2021, our judges compared the best-equipped variant of each seven-seat model priced between $60,000 and $75,000.

Contenders included the Hyundai Palisade Highlander 2.2D AWD, Hyundai Santa Fe Highlander 2.2D AWD, Kia Sorento GT-Line 2.2D AWD, Mazda CX-8 Asaki 2.2D AWD, Mazda CX-9 Azami 2.5T AWD, Skoda Kodiaq RS 2.0D AWD, Toyota Kluger Grande Hybrid 2.5 AWD and Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace 2.0T Wolfsburg Edition.

See who won Best Family SUV 2021

Best Small Car 2021

To determine the carsales Best Small Car for 2021, our judges compared the best-equipped variants of the nine most popular models on the market.

These included the Ford Focus ST-Line, Honda Civic RS, Hyundai i30 N Line Premium, Kia Cerato GT, Mazda3 G25 Astina, Skoda Scala Signature, Subaru Impreza 2.0i-S, Toyota Corolla ZR and Volkswagen Golf R-Line.

See who won Best Small Car 2021

Best Electric Car 2021

The limited number of accessible (sub-$100,000) electric cars on sale in Australia today forced us to draw from various passenger car and SUV segments to find the Best Electric Car for 2021.

Here we judged the most affordable and popular electric cars on the market priced under $70,000, including the Hyundai IONIQ Electric Premium, Hyundai Kona Electric Extended Range Highlander, Kia Niro EV Sport, Mazda MX-30 Electric Astina, MG ZS EV, MINI Cooper SE Yours, Nissan LEAF e+ and Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus.

See who won Best Electric Car 2021

Best First Car 2021

To find Australia’s best new car for first-time buyers, we assembled the entry-level variant of seven popular models priced under $25,000 and fitted with autonomous emergency braking (AEB), a reversing camera, five-star ANCAP safety rating and an automatic transmission.

Contenders included the Kia Rio Sport, Mazda2 G15 Pure, Mitsubishi Mirage LS, Skoda Fabia 81TSI Run-Out Edition, Suzuki Swift GL Navigator Plus, Toyota Yaris Ascent Sport and Volkswagen Polo 70TSI Trendline.

See who won Best First Car 2021