Six fully battery-dedicated models feature, along with three more that have hybrid options within their respective ranges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Importance of battery-involved mobility has been increasingly obvious to the administrator of the annual award, the New Zealand Motoring Writers\u2019 Guild, says president Richard Bosselman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe finalist selection again underscores the rapid addition of electrified options to the country\u2019s new car model lists.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Competition for the 2022 prize has nonetheless seen a resurgence from the combustion engine quarter, with a hot hatch and two sports utilities, a reminder the market continues to be in transition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In alphabetical order, the candidates are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BMW iX; BYD Atto 3; Ford Everest Hyundai i20 N; Kia EV6 and Sportage; Lexus NX; Mercedes-AMG EQS 53 and Mercedes-Benz C-Class; Mitsubishi Outlander; Polestar 2 and Tesla Model Y.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The BMW iX, BYD Atto 3, Kia EV6, Mercedes-AMG EQS, Polestar 2 and Tesla Model Y are fully electric and purpose-designed for batteries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Mitsubishi Outlander and Lexus NX all avail in mains-replenished plug-in hybrid guise. The Lexus also delivers in mild hybrid; the Mercedes and Mitsubishi also in combustion engine forms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Contenders considered in internal combustion are the Kia Sportage, the Hyundai i20 N compact petrol performance hatchback and the Ford Everest, a seven-seater diesel sports utility wagon, related to the Ford Ranger one-tonne utility that is highly popular here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSeeing electric vehicles come to the fore for New Zealand Car of the Year is not in itself new \u2013 of last year\u2019s 10 finalists, all but one \u2018battery-included\u2019,\u201d says Bosselman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHaving as finalists six cars that are available solely with electric power does set a new benchmark for the award.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first electric-powered model to achieve New Zealand Car of the Year, represented by the Peter Greenslade Trophy, was the BMW i3, in 2015. That was a range extender version with a petrol engine acting as a power generator. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The prize has since gone to three fully electric cars. Jaguar i-Pace achieved the 2019 status, Mercedes-Benz EQC took the 2020 prize and Hyundai Ioniq 5 is the current holder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now entering its 35th year, New Zealand Car of the Year has firm industry and public recognition as the country\u2019s most prestigious motoring award. It is a truly national prize without commercial ties or influence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To be considered as a finalist, a vehicle must have been launched in New Zealand as an all-new model in the past 12 months,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Twenty judges have been involved this year, with evaluations continuing into early 2023. The winner is announced live on TVNZ One\u2019s Seven Sharp programme in February 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Guild members assess the finalists on a specified range of criteria spanning how the vehicle performs its intended role; its styling, interior design and accommodation; fit, finish and quality; ride and refinement; performance; road-holding and handling; value for money; active and passive safety and environmental responsibility.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
TWELVE cars representing 10 brands have made the cut as finalists for the 2022 edition of the prestigious New Zealand Car of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3736,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nzmwg.co.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3735"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nzmwg.co.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nzmwg.co.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nzmwg.co.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nzmwg.co.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3735"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/nzmwg.co.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3735\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3738,"href":"https:\/\/nzmwg.co.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3735\/revisions\/3738"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nzmwg.co.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3736"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nzmwg.co.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3735"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nzmwg.co.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3735"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nzmwg.co.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3735"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}