motoring.com.au Recommends: the best cars of 2016

BMW has convincingly topped the hit parade as the most awarded car manufacturer in 2016’s motoring.com.au Recommends awards. In total, BMW vehicles won nine recommendations.

Announced this morning, motoring.com.au Recommends delivers top-five choices to consumers across 13 carsales.com.au network lifestyle categories. The vehicle choices are voted on by motoring.com.au’s road test and editorial team and serve as the basis for the selection of finalists in the carsales.com.au Car of the Year awards.

Eight BMW vehicles garnered the nine wins across seven of the 13 categories. BMW’s i3 was Recommended in two categories. Australia’s Best Driver’s Car 2016, the BMW M2 was one of the top choices in the Performance Cars Under $100K category.

Other stand-out cars for BMW this year included the new plug-in hybrid 330e.

Ford was the second most lauded brand with seven votes across the different segments. Of particular note this year from the Blue Oval was the game-changing Focus RS and ever-capable Ranger.

Audi was in third place with six votes, Mazda fourth place with five votes and Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, Skoda, Volkswagen and Holden all tying for fifth place with four votes each.

motoring.com.au Recommends categories correspond with new and used car search options across carsales.com Ltd’s network of websites including: carsales.com.au, CarPoint.com.au, redbook.com.au and motoring.com.au. They are defined by Redbook data such as price, size, passenger capacity and other category-specific factors.

motoring.com.au Recommends winners are highlighted in searches across the network’s new-car buying and research areas. As a result, motoring.com.au Recommends is not only a reward to acknowledge the best automotive products, but a helpful tool for new car buyers wishing to shorten their wishlists.

motoring.com.au’s editorial team uses a comprehensive list of checks and balances to ensure only the best cars are recommended. A secret ballot decides the five Recommended winners in each category.

Be in no doubt that the new vehicles listed in the top fives are unequivocally the best cars in their given segment this year.

For a car to be eligible for motoring.com.au Recommends, vehicles tested must be available to the general public and had to have been driven by a motoring.com.au journalist before September 1, 2016.

A full list of the top five cars across all 13 categories can be read below:

City Car: Audi A3 Sportback e-tron; BMW i3; Mazda2; Volkswagen Polo; Mazda CX-3

First Car: Skoda Fabia; Ford Fiesta; Kia Picanto; Holden Spark; Kia Rio

Family Car <$30k: Skoda Octavia; Hyundai Elantra; Mazda3; Volkswagen Golf; Honda Civic

Family Car >$30k: Mazda6; Skoda Superb; Citroen C4 Grand Picasso; Holden Commodore Sportswagon; Ford Mondeo

Green Car: Tesla Model S; BMW i3; Audi A3 Sportback e-tron; BMW 330e; Mercedes-Benz C350e

Off-road 4x4: Ford Ranger; Land Rover Discovery; Ford Everest; Toyota Fortuner; Toyota LandCruiser 200 series

Performance Car under $100K: BMW M2; Ford Focus RS; Holden Commodore SS V-Series Redline; Peugeot 308 GTi; Audi RS3 Sportsback

Performance Car over $100K: Porsche 911 Carrera S; Audi R8 V10 Plus; Porsche 718 Boxter S; BMW M4 Competition Pack; Ferrari 488 GTB

Prestige Car under $100K: Audi A4; Mercedes-Benz E-Class; Jaguar XF; Mercedes-Benz C-Class; BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe

Prestige Car over $100K: Mercedes-Benz S-Class; BMW 7 Series; Tesla Model S; Jaguar XJ; BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe

SUV under $50k: Mazda CX-9; Hyundai Tucson; Skoda Octavia Scout; Volkswagen Tiguan; Kia Sorrento

SUV over $50K: Audi Q7; Jaguar F-Pace; Porsche Macan; Range Rover Sport; BMW X5

Tradies: Ford Ranger; Volkswagen Amarok; Toyota Hilux; Holden Ute; Ford Transit Custom