Best cars

Need more info? No problem. What kind of car do you want? (Select one, below.)

Can’t decide? No problem: More detail below.

Plus, you can click through for detailed reviews on individual AutoExpert recommended vehicles.

Small SUV

Medium SUV

Medium SUVs are the most popular category of vehicle in Australia.

But how do you choose between over 40 different midsize SUVs, all being sold to you as the greatest there is?

You can’t possibly be expected to test drive every single model, and even attempting to look at half of them will only leave you with more questions than answers

Let’s help you rationalise the best of the bunch so that you can figure out which one will suit your budget, perform in every way you expect and crucially - leave you fully informed about what it lacks, so that you can accept those indiscretions.

There’s no perfect medium SUV, but there are plenty of duds…

Large & 7-seat SUV

When you’re considering spending $50,000 or more on a new vehicle, it needs to do the job, be comfortable and offer extraordinary value.

But which of the 44 large seven-seat SUV models on sale right now will leave you frustrated, waste your time and cost you your sanity?

Not all seven- or eight-seat SUVs do everything they might appear to do, nor do they cure all the problems you need them to solve.

If you need to move around your growing family, let’s kickstart the process by making it as efficient as possible, because you’re busy and not here to play games with your hard-earned five figures.

Here are the best big-family barges and why they’re worth your time…

Utes & vans

Australia buys over 250,000 light commercial utes and nearly 25,000 vans every year.

Tradespeople like you generally don’t have time or the inclination to sort through the pros and cons of 14 different utes or 13 separate vans currently on sale.

So how about I’ll help you nail-down the best options in the market, prioritising the facts and filtering out the nonsense, so that you can get back to work?

If you need a van to suit your specific type of trade, then this definitive list will help you crimp which ones are going to serve your workplace or small business they way you need it to.

Right, you’re not here to muck around - let’s get going…

Rugged 4x4s (off-road)

If campfires, tents and filling your wheelarches with mud is your kind of long weekend, then this is where you’ll find a no-holds-barred shortlist and analysis of the hardcore off-road warrior set.

Shopping in this section, you need low-range transmissions that will last, engines that can deliver and suspension that can handle the hard stuff. You also need to know their limitations and foibles.

But it’s also about long-distance touring with weeks worth of survival gear, towing heavy trailers, caravans, boats and campers, typically with a family in the back, and a bunch of equipment on the roof.

You’ll also get a healthy dose of best-practice safety advice when it comes to loading up, driving and the addition of 4WD and adventure-related accessories. Let’s lock ‘n’ load…

Heavy towing

If you’re on a mission to find the best vehicles for the purpose of towing big, heavy trailers these are the sharpest tools in the shed.

Not only do they offer the stability, dependability and reliability you need from a heavy towing platform, some of them are even pleasant to sit in while doing so. But just because they come with leather and cameras, they don’t lose their modus operandi.

Towing is more than just balling-up and hitting the road. It’s about towball download limits, gross-vehicle and gross-combination mass, it’s about dynamic stability, conservative safety limits and a basic respect for physics.

So here is your cheat sheet to the best vehicle for pulling heavy loads safely and efficiently, and even on a reasonable budget…

Conventional car

If you need maximum car for your minimal spend, the old faithful four-door sedan with a separate boot and seating for five, you’re in the right place.

Normal cars might not be the most popular flavour in the new car market anymore, but that doesn’t mean they don’t do the same job as well - or better.

Many of these conventional cars still offer more legroom, greater luggage space, and better functionality and practicality for average, mundane daily passenger transport than SUVs. Learner and probationary drivers can also learn a lot of skills driving these smaller, lighter, lower cars.

They’re also quite affordable, offer good resale value and make for a cost-effective tool in your taxi fleet, ride-share business, or simply as a tight-budget side-hustle. Hop in…

Small city car

Less is more for city dwellers who appreciate having more features and less actual car to weave in-and-out of the tight, congested concrete jungle.

Despite SUV popularity, small cars are still cheap to make and serve as an entry into every carmaker’s range, which is why there are so many small hatches to choose from.

But how could you possibly find the right one for you among a sea of 40 different micro cars, light cars and notionally ‘small’ cars? Some brands can only move double-digits of certain models while others are selling hotcakes at hundreds or even into the thousands, every month.

If you want to buy one of the studs, and avoid (like the plague) all of the duds, with high depreciation and servicing costs, in addition to the extortionate pricetag, here’s most of the homework done for you…

Performance

This is the category where verve and passion rule the day. It’s where adrenaline and primal instincts come out to play.

Performance cars are for the rebellious, the focused and the committed new-car buyer who knows what they want and are prepared to make their aspirations a reality.

But which brands are selling you dreams, and which will be a living nightmare to deal with once you’ve handed over your money? How can you tell the mutton models dressed as lamb? It’s very easy to be bought and sold when you’re shopping for such an emotive product.

Carmakers are highly trained at promising you everything, but leaving you with nothing when their so-called ‘performance’ car fails you.

Here are the cars (and brands) that won’t disappoint…

EVs & PHEVs

If you’re ready to start divorcing yourself from liquid fuels and adopt a low tailpipe-emission driving life, these are the battery-motivated vehicles that have the most to offer.

Sales in combustion-free vehicles are increasing by the month and new models are becoming increasingly available down under, after years of inaction. Thousands are sold each month, but which is the right EV for your foreseeable future? What happens if your circumstances change?

If a full battery-only EV won’t work, a plug-in hybrid might be the perfect jigsaw puzzle piece to bridge the gap.

Let’s help you sort through the mish-mash of electric vehicles on-sale right now, to find one that’s gonna go the distance, meet your needs and minimise the compromise needed to fit it into your life…

Luxury EV

If you’re in the fortunate position to afford a prestige electric vehicle, you either have the time to comb through the market - or you absolutely don’t because time is money.

Here’s a definitive shortlist to get you up to speed and on your way to putting the ideal EV in your driveway as soon as possible, so that you can get back to running the show.

There are plenty of brands selling luxury electric vehicles, but exactly how established or emerging are they, and what assurances can they offer about still being around by the time you’re ready to try their next model?

It’s easy to make and sell a luxury EV, but as a brand, what’s harder is commercial stability to support the needs of your customers long-term.

Lets find you an EV from a brand with skin in the game…

People mover

There are over 4000 multiple births in Australia every year, which can quickly render most 7-seat SUV outgunned when it comes to installing child restraints and performing routine sports, school and holiday tasks.

If you’re about to have a big family, or if your current family is growing faster than you can keep them fed, it’s time to accept the truth - a people mover would be the best tool for the job.

In the same way we age, go bald and gain weight, so too does our wisdom grow. Thankfully, there are a bunch of people movers standing-by for the moment it becomes abundantly clear that your enormous kids (and their stuff) simply won’t fit into anything else.

Here are the full-size family haulers ready to make your life a breeze…

Best incoming all-new vehicles

If you’re busily twiddling your thumbs waiting for a certain new model to roll around before you buy, this is a snapshot of some of the more important vehicles waiting in the wings.

There is an endless congaline of new vehicles from every carmaker whose corporate marketing department is foaming at the mouth to tell you their next new model will be the greatest thing you’ve ever borne witness to, just teasing you mercilessly to drop your money with them.

But these are the core models that should be of interest to you in the longer term. Not only does a new model need to actually arrive, it also needs runs on the board before it gets an AutoExpert approval for your consideration. Why? Because all new cars are better than the old one, but not all of them are good enough.

Here’s what’s coming in the next year or so…

ENQUIRE ABOUT YOUR NEXT NEW CAR NOW

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COMMON DEALERSHIP RIP-OFFS

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• Minor damage policies

Visiting a dealership opens the door to all these traps, and using my car-buying services insulates you from all of it. All you need to do is decide what car you want, take a test drive to confirm it’s right for you, and we’ll do the rest. We’ll even organise the test drive for you if you want.

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