Australia's Best Cars

[ofey]

Got this out of RACV's Royal Auto Magazine which you can see here.

Here's a subset of the list. More can be seen on the link. I've only chosen to type out the listings which have Mitsubishis.

Light Car (< A$20,000)
1. Hyundai i20 Active = 765pts
2. VW Polo 77 TSI = 755pts
3. Ford Fiesta CL = 722pts
4. Honda Jazz GLi = 711pts
5. Mazda 2 Neo = 704pts
... THEN CAME (quite far down the list)
Mitsubishi Colt VR-X =635pts

Small Car (< A$35,000)
1. Hyundai i30 SX = 788pts
2. VW Golf 118 TSI = 771pts
3. Honda Civic VTi = 759pts
4. Mazda 3 Neo = 749pts
5. Mitsubishi Lancer ES = 737pts

Sports (< A$80,000)
1. BMW 135i Coupe = 807pts
2. VW Golf R = 798pts
3. VW Golf GTI = 781pts
4. Subaru Imprezza STi = 689pts
5. Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution MR = 687pts
... THEN CAME (end of the list)
Mitsubishi Lancer RA =606pts

Other Mitsus

SUV (<A$40,000)
.
2. Mitsubishi ASX 4WD = 714pts
.
.
5. Mitsubishi Lancer Outlander =606pts

Best All Terrain 4WD
.
.
.
4. Mitsubishi Pajero GLX = 685pts

Thoughts?

[billy boy]

lol to the RA being last on the sports cars under $80k - any idea as to what the wrx came?

edit: 657 points to 606 - that is a fair difference

[spunkybob]

I spose its becasue teh RA isnt realy a sports car... just an AWD VRX with a turbo.

[JaCe]

At the end of the day the Evo is a dedicated car with a specific focus whereas the cars which win these categories will always be all rounders in some way.

[Itachi]

I have a similar thing from wheels Magazine but it is called "Gold Star Cars".

Without going into to much detail the categories they based the scores on were: Purchase Price, Warranty, Service, Retained Value, Insurance, Fuel, Safety and Drive.

As with ofey I will only give the ones that include a CJ, but I can put up other categories if people are interested (I have to type them all out as they are a print media only).

Small under $26K
1) Hyundai i30 SLX CRDI = 85.51
2) Mitsubishi Lancer VR = 81.75
3) Volkswagen Golf 90TSI = 79.22

Sedan/Hatch $26-31K
1) Volkswagen Golf 77TDI = 80.70
2) Mitsubishi Lancer VRX = 79.60
3) Hyundai i45 Active = 76.62
Notable classmates: Mazda 3 SP25 hatch 75.12, Ford Focus TDCi hatch 74.45

Compact Performance under $70K
1) Volkswagen Golf GTD = 78.72
2) Mini Cooper S JCW = 75.27
3) Ford Focus XR5 Turbo = 71.91
Notable classmates: Renault Clio Renaultsport 200 71.04, Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart 70.68, Mazda 3 MPS 69.51

The new ASX Topped the compact SUV class with 81.87 and the Pajero topped the 4WDs with 75.89.

These scores are out of 100 and are more about the best "value" car than the "best" car. The sports sedan under $100K section (I guess where the EVO would go) was all Holdens and Fords, such a load of crap...

Anyways, thought you might like to know

[vlad_the_impaler]

I still can't understand what others like in Hyundai i30... I've had a test drive before I got my CJ... from all the cars I've tried it was less impressive
But yes I understand... all this "car of the year" contests are marker related

[squala]

There are a few things that need to be noted here:

1. Fuel Economy: This is based solely on the ADR ratings. The i30 lists a better consumption figure than the Lancer but a Wheels magazine test saw a CVT VR beat a manual Hyundai.

2. Ride: I wouldn't agree that the Lancer rated only a 7. The ride is a good balance of handling and smoothness. The Civic which rated an 8, for me, had a worse ride overall.

3. Performance: The Lancer, which rated a 7 again, is one less than the Mazda3, even if tests showed it's actually a quicker car.

4. Standard features: Why give the Golf a 9 if it's actually asking a lot more money for it all? And a 4 for the Lancer? These guys must be drunk. It's the only one that offers 7 airbags standard. It also has standard cruise control, but the Civic, where at nearly 25K is even asking more money for this feature to be fitted, is rated the same.

A more attractive pricing scheme from next year would probably give a stronger rating for the Lancer very soon. I personally don't believe the i30 is better overall. I never even considered that car. Four-speed autos were automatically disqualified. This assessment is indeed flawed and fortunately, none of us here were stupid enough to fall for it.

[dannyboi]

I didn't realise the Lancer ES ever came close to being 5th on those lists. Too bad they had to look at the base model ES, as the SX is much better value.

I did go to have a look at the i30 when I was shopping for a car, and I must say that it's pretty good for that pricing. Based on styling though, I'd go with the 4 other cars on the list as I'm pretty put off by the front.

[Gleno]

There's nothing special about the I 30's. I have driven one and found it boring. Maybe the price and warranty are the reasons why they are highly rated. Lancers are packed with features that I like and heaps of accessories as well. Name another manufactures that gives you auto lights and auto wipers and climate control for under $30k?? Now they may not be a necessity, but little things like that won me over.

I'm at a loss as to why the lancer isn't higher up in the sales race, trust me I owned a 08 corolla and they are a smooth car to drive, but at a loss as too why they outsell the lancer.

Oh and you can black out the front bumper with the other models either lol

[mr_evo]

I spose its becasue teh RA isnt realy a sports car... just an AWD VRX with a turbo.

^^ I was gonna say the same thing till I saw your post... It's just a all wheel drive VRX with a turbo... and a fully hectic vented evo bonnet yo

[Superintendent Chalmers]

I would have thought the new Cerato would have been in contention for a few awards. Nice car with a lot of kit for a reasonable price.

Can't believe the lancer got a 7 for finish/build quality. With hard plastics even for the up-specced Ralliart/evo and a paint finish that is the worst in its class, they got off lightly in some aspects.

[El-Diablo]

If they had a performance car under $50,000 category how many cars would be in it? RA would rank highly then.

My Ra was under forty thousand drive away. Spend forty thousand in extras on on an RA you have a giant killer.

Spend the 30k price diff between an RA and an EVO have a car that it would take the same amount of money spent on the evo to match it.

[mr_evo]

30k price difference between the RA and EVO? dont think so...

[Superintendent Chalmers]

30k price difference between the RA and EVO? dont think so...

+1

Not that different anymore. 2010 MR going out the door for under $60k