Car of the year 2023

AUSTRALIA'S MOST COVETED MOTORING AWARD IS BACK AT FULL NOISE FOR 2023. STRAP IN AND ENJOY THE MOST OPEN FIELD IN YEARS

- ANDY ENRIGHT, ALEX INWOOD, ALEX AFFAT, JOHN LAW, KATHRYN FISK, JEZ SPINKS, DYLAN CAMPBELL

Open season

REVISED ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA DELIVERED THE MOST DIVERSE COTY EVER

I'D HAZARD A GUESS that, prior to COTY 2023 kicking off, not one judge was able to confidently predict the winner. We haven't had a field this open in years because there are usually one or two cars that we know are going to perform well, but this time was different and, as a result utterly intriguing. Yes, the contender list was stacked with talent, but nominating which would be the last vehicle standing? That's one for the 'too hard' basket.

The sight of 26 gleaming vehicles lined up beneath blue skies at the Lang Lang proving ground felt like the most welcome of throwbacks to pre-pandemic times. But for all that is familiar, there have been some subtle updates to the formula. For the very first time, the COTY invitation list had been extended to ladder-framed vehicles, allowing Ford to join the fray with its game-changing Ranger dual cab and Everest SUV.

Given their popularity with Aussie buyers, it seemed churlish to hold out against them. The fact that these were delivered on all-terrain tyres virtually guaranteed them last places in the dynamic braking and swerve tests, more on which later.

We had five electric vehicles from five different manufacturers; we welcomed BYD and Cupra to the COTY fray for the very first time, and Nissan mounted a fullfrontal assault with Z, Qashqai and X-Trail, hoping to snag its first win since 1991's Pulsar. Tesla's big-selling Model Y looked strong after its sibling, the Model 3, finished second at the 2020 event but three years is a long time in the newcar market.