How we decided the 2020 carsales Car of the Year
In a year that demanded flexibility and razor-sharp focus, many things had to change... The 2020 carsales COTY selection process was one of them
The world moved on its axis in 2020. Everything changed – how we lived, how we worked, when we could or could not see loved ones. COVID-19 affected every aspect of our lives.
Unsurprisingly, the 2020 carsales Car of the Year proudly presented by Bingle was not immune.
Right up front we must flag that the movement restrictions placed upon Australians prevented us from comparing our 27 contenders or even our 10 finalists head-to-head in the field as usual.
Initially, we delayed the final judging from its normal October/November timing to January, and then to February. But even then, COVID flare-ups and border closure concerns prevented us from gathering together the judges and the fleet of vehicles required.
But we believe the process we instituted is still robust. That there was no head-to-head competition between contenders or finalists shouldn’t for a moment devalue the achievements of our winner, the Kia Sorento, nor our two Highly Commended runners-up.
Multi-layered
In 2020, as has always been the case, the carsales Car of the Year is a multi-layered process combining objective data with our judges’ opinion and scores.
Considering all the new or substantially updated passenger car models released from the time of the 2019 judging through to December 31, 2020, carsales editors assembled 27 contenders.
Basic eligibility requires that all vehicles must be series-production models available via dealers or a wholesale distribution chain. As noted above, for consideration each vehicle must be substantially updated or a new variant within this calendar year, on sale prior to December 31 and available for field testing.
If a vehicle is not available for evaluation, we reserve the right to include it in subsequent carsales Car of the Year testing. This ensures that cars that have been launched but are not available for our test or evaluation timetable can be included in the next year’s testing.
Key eligibility requirements for 2020 include the fitment of a reversing camera and autonomous emergency braking (AEB) system as standard across their range. At least one variant in the range must be priced below $250,000.
Value, warranty, aftersales support and projected cost of ownership are key factors considered when determining carsales Car of the Year, proudly presented by Bingle.
This data, supplied and curated by RedBook, not only sets the award apart from its competitors but, more importantly, delivers real insight into information important to Australian new-car buyers.
For the 2020 carsales Car of the Year, RedBook calculated the cost to run and the retained value of our 27 contenders against an ownership period of three years or 60,000km.
Cost to run factors include fuel, tyres, insurance, servicing and the like, while cost to own data comprises financing, warranty coverage, depreciation, retail price and value for money (calculated against key segment rivals).
Unique for 2020
Facing the challenges of on-site testing that COVID restrictions presented, we took the decision early to limit head-to-head testing to our 10 top-scoring vehicles and reserved the right to add two wildcards from the remaining 17 contenders.
The 10 finalists for 2020 carsales Car of the Year proudly presented by Bingle were announced on November 11, 2020. Subsequently, we engaged our readership to vote for your choice. That people’s vote was topped by the Porsche Taycan.
As we rolled into early 2021 it was clear we would be unable to carry out head-to-head comparison judging. At that point we convened our judging panel to decide on one winner and two Highly Commended cars.
The panel comprised carsales.com.au Editor-in-Chief, Mike Sinclair; Managing Editor, Marton Pettendy; Technical Editor, Ken Gratton; News Editor, Sam Charlwood; Senior Staff Journalist, Feann Torr; Staff Journalist, Alexandra Lawrence, and Consumer Editor, Nadine Armstrong. Long-standing carsales contributors Bruce Newton and Paul Gover were also included.
Judges were instructed to list their top five cars from the 10 finalists and two wildcards. Each judge was given an opportunity to talk to his or her choices and, eventually, the top three was selected. The final result was with the support of the entire panel.
Where to in 2021?
There’s no shortage of uncertainty as 2021 progresses. What we are sure of, however, is that we will continue to evolve the carsales Car of the Year process.
The early feedback from our consumers is that we will likely cull the field to a top 10 plus two wildcards for head-to-head testing. You also liked the opportunity to nominate a People’s Choice.
Fingers crossed we will be able to once again bring you the trials and tribulations of on-road and test-track assessment of the very best cars released to the Australian market this year.
For the time being, the 2020 carsales Car of the Year proudly presented by Bingle has been run and won. And to the victors go the spoils.
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