Wheels Gold Star Cars

Exactly who offers the best-value car on the Australian new-car market? And what does “value” mean anyway?

Wheels magazine’s 2011 Gold Star Value Awards don’t tell you exactly, but this month’s issue does feature a comprehensive list of what it considers to be the best value for money cars in very specific categories, from sub-$20,000 light cars to luxury cars costing as much as $150,000.

The criteria for judging the front-runners are detailed and well-considered. The Gold Star awards aim to give a pretty close idea of the costs of running a car by taking into account factors such as the initial purchase price, service intervals, insurance costs, fuel costs, the period of warranty and depreciation over three years.

Most significant is depreciation. It is the single biggest cost of owning a new car and, through data supplied by RedBook, Wheels found retained value in the cars considered ranged from as high as 71 per cent to a low of 37 per cent.

The categories included Light under $20K, Small under $27K, Sedan/hatch between $25K and $31K, Premium compact between $30K and $50K, Premium medium between $45K and $65K, Premium mid/large between $100K and $150K, Sports coupes under $150K, Medium between $31K and $45K, Large between $33K and $45K, Large between $45K and $55K, Sports sedans under $100K, Medium SUVs, five seats-plus people movers, 4WDs, compact SUVs, compact performance under $75K, Convertibles under $60K, and Sports roadsters under $150K. Whew.

We won’t undermine Wheels by listing each winner in each category. Let’s just say the Volkswagen group did pretty well with representation from VW, Audi and Skoda in five first places, BMW scored okay with BMW and MINI products getting three first-place awards, and Holden and Mitsubishi each recoded two first places.

Suzuki, Jaguar, Nissan, Ford, Kia and Mazda also scored first places in their respective categories.

For an indication of how the results are quantified, the winning sub $20K light car, Suzuki’s Swift (pictured), scored with 64 per cent retained value after three years, attracted a $776 annual insurance premium from AAMI and consumed fuel to the value of $994. It was not the best in every item considered, but the overall point tally carried it across the line as first in category.