Countdown to the finalists: carsales Car of the Year 2020

The top 10 finalists for Australia’s premier automotive consumer award will be announced tomorrow after a comprehensive judging process that has whittled down a strong field of 27 contenders over the past month.

The 2020 carsales Car of the Year, proudly presented by Bingle, has this year overcome the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic and brought the best metal to the surface from a wide range of new models that reflect the rapidly changing nature of the Aussie automotive landscape.

With SUVs now accounting for half of all new vehicles sold in Australia (and rising), it’s turned out that two-thirds of the contenders for the 2020 carsales Car of the Year are from this ever-strengthening category – from excellent little crossovers like the Volkswagen T-Cross to the big and impressive new Land Rover Defender.

And as electrification begins to permeate through car manufacturers’ model ranges – from hybrids (mild, self-charging and plug-in) through to full-electric vehicles – more than 25 per cent of this year’s field have battery power as a key factor driving their selection.

These include the EV that stands as a world benchmark – the super-high-tech Porsche Taycan – and another that is $160,000 more affordable but clearly shows where even the smallest cars are now heading: the Toyota Yaris Hybrid.

As ever, each carsales COTY contender is scored via expert opinion and data generated by automotive data specialist RedBook.com.au, with key assessment criteria including the costs involved in purchasing, running and maintaining the vehicle.

This year, in a departure from the norm due to movement restrictions that are only now beginning to ease along the eastern seaboard, only the top 10 finalists and two wildcards will be put through back-to-back testing to determine the winner.

So which cars will make the grade?

All will be revealed tomorrow, when we will also open up a reader poll that allows you to vote for your own Car of the Year.

A week later, we’ll announce our People’s Choice Award winner.

So here are the 27 contenders for carsales Car of the Year 2020, proudly presented by Bingle, which from tomorrow will be whittled down to just 10 finalists…