Australia’s Best Cars for 2009

The Volkswagen Golf and Subaru Outback have won two of the most popular categories in the Australia’s Best Cars awards, presented at a gala industry dinner in Melbourne last night.

The Golf 118 Tsi Comfortline won the award for Best Mid-size Car over $30,000, while the Outback 2.5i picked up the popular Best Recreational 4WD category in Australia’s Best Cars, an independent awards program conducted by the Australian Automobile Association and constituent motoring clubs.

Founder and Managing Director of HerCar.com.au, Melissa Pye, told Australian Women Online, “There were very few surprises in terms of which models took out the gongs. Some manufacturers even had multiple wins, like Audi, Subaru and Hyundai.”

Judges noted other highlights among the winners as the improved quality of small cars, with the Ford Fiesta LX winning the Best Small Car and Hyundai continuing its emphasis on safety across its range with the i30 SX (pictured) again picking up Best Mid-size car under $30,000.

“If you’re after a small car the Fiesta is brilliant. It looks great and performs incredibly well for a small car. And you can’t go wrong with a Volkswagen Golf. I’ve had 4 in my life! And the Hyundai i30 continues to win awards. I believe that this is the 8th Australian award,” said Melissa Pye.

In the Prestige Car categories, Audi continued its Best Cars’ success of last year to win the Best Luxury Sports Car, Best Luxury Car and Best Luxury 4WD – the BMW 135i Coupe won the Best Sports Car award.

“Audi have for a long time produced very good quality cars, but have lived in the shadows of their German counterparts. Their cars are finally being recognised for their styling, performance and value for money, taking out 3 Best Car Awards. In saying this, I was a little surprised that the Audi Q5 took out the award Best Luxury 4WD. I thought the Volvo XC60 may have just pipped it.”

Winners of Australia’s Best Cars for 2009:

• Best Small Car – Ford Fiesta LX
• Best Mid-size Car under $30,000 – Hyundai i30 SX diesel
• Best Mid-size Car over $30,000 – Volkswagen Golf 118 Tsi Comfortline
• Best Large Car – Toyota Aurion AT-X
• Best People Mover – Hyundai iMax diesel
• Best Sports Car – BMW 135i Coupe
• Best Luxury Sports Car – Audi TT-S TFSI Quattro
• Best Prestige Car – Subaru Liberty 3.6R Premium
• Best Luxury Car – Audi A6 TFSi
• Best Recreational 4WD – Subaru Outback 2.5i
• Best Luxury 4WD – Audi Q5 3.0 TDI
• Best All Terrain 4WD – Land Rover Discovery 4 SE TDV6

“These cars are assessed against three important criteria for consumers – value for money, design and on-road performance,” said AAA Chief Executive, Mike Harris.

“Each year we are seeing better produced, safer and more affordable vehicles on the Australian market and we congratulate the winning manufacturers and all finalists.”

Australia’s Best Cars winners and all vehicles assessed can be viewed on www.australiasbestcars.com.au or by purchasing the Australia’s Best Cars magazine at newsagents and Club outlets.