Toyota triumphs on the tarmac as best new cars for WA buyers revealed

We’re sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. We’re working to restore it. Please try again later.

Advertisement

This was published 4 years ago

Toyota triumphs on the tarmac as best new cars for WA buyers revealed

By Hamish Hastie

As we hurtle into the corners of RAC’s testing track behind Perth Airport, tyres screaming and orifices clenched tightly shut, it becomes abruptly apparent why the Toyota Supra GTS has been named the country’s best sports car.

The blistering coupe – the modern iteration of the iconic 1990s sports car of the same name – tops the list of Australia’s best cars for 2019.

RAC Australia's best cars WA judge Alex Forrest with the Toyota Supra

RAC Australia's best cars WA judge Alex Forrest with the Toyota SupraCredit: Hamish Hastie

The Supra's track run is just one of the many testing scenarios judges put 180 new vehicles through over the past 12 months to assess value for money, design, function and performance.

Winners included three German cars, four Korean cars and six Japanese cars – and there were a few surprises along the way (see the full list of winners below).

Despite being one of the country’s best-selling cars, the top gong for small car has proved elusive to the Toyota Corolla. Until now.

The Japanese carmaker had a strong showing in this year’s awards. In addition to the Corolla and Supra, the best ute was awarded to the Toyota Hilux SR5 and the Rav 4 hybrid won the SUV under $55,000 category.

WAtoday was given a run around the test track in the Supra to get a first-hand look at the rigours of RAC's testing process.

Tyres screamed as the flashy favourite was put through its paces, and handled every turn and trial thrown its way with grace and comfort.

RAC Manager Vehicles and Fuels and Australia’s best cars judge Alex Forrest, who listed the Supra as his favourite of the lot, said safety improvements using automated technology featured heavily in this year’s best cars list across all categories.

Advertisement

“Advanced vehicle safety features, such as autonomous emergency braking, continue to become more widely available on affordable new cars, meaning more motorists are getting access to these life-saving technologies,” he said.

“The way the braking performs is really phenomenal. We’ve been able to put these cars through their paces on a closed road and really see how capable these cars are at stopping multiple times, what we’ve found is they perform extremely well time and again.

“It does give you some kind of confidence in the car and on the road if you're unlucky enough to find yourself in that situation.”

Two hybrids featured in this year’s list, and while there were some fully electric vehicles listed as finalists, range and value for money let them down against their petrol and diesel cousins.

Mr Forrest predicted that would change over the coming years.

“The trend we’ve seen so far is that EVs are becoming more affordable and more common,” he said.

“There is more choice among the EVs in the market currently, who knows what the future is going to hold but currently if the last year is anything to go by, they stand a good chance of becoming more affordable and competing with a conventional car.”

The HiLux SR5 took out the best 4x4 category.

The HiLux SR5 took out the best 4x4 category.

Mr Forrest’s advice to new car buyers: first work out their price, and from there prioritise safety features, fuel efficiency, cost of ownership and whether the car does the job they want it to do.

“Make sure it suits your lifestyle,” he said.

RAC recommended buyers check the ANCAP safety rating of any car before making a purchase, and choose the safest car they can afford.

Most Viewed in National

Loading