Each year Driven Women Magazine shares the cars that we have enjoyed driving the most for the calendar year. The bar for entry is high, because I only drive the cars that I want to, from the hundreds of models that are currently available in Australia.
In 2025 my family and I reviewed 57 cars from 27 marques with a combined value of over $11 million and there were many highlights among them. I would not be able to do this without the ongoing support from some of Australia’s best car brands and for that I am truly grateful.
The judging panel for our awards has a 50:50 gender split and is intergenerational, with my two children having an equal say in the winners. So, without further ado, lets announce them!
Eco Car of the Year
In 2025 I drove numerous battery electric vehicles, hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and mild hybrids, which are more like faux hybrids in my opinion. Our 2025 Eco Car of the Year goes to the super cute Hyundai Inster Cross!
This small electric SUV is more than just its cute face though, with plenty of handy storage in the cabin, some cool Easter eggs, and it also had the best battery usage figure of any EV I drove in 2025 of 14.2kWh/100km equating to a real-world range of approximately 345km, plenty for your daily commute around town.
The Highly Commended award in the Eco category goes to the Kia Sorento Plug-in Hybrid GT-Line AWD because for the first time driving any plug-in hybrid I bettered the official combined fuel economy, achieving 1.4L/100km compared to the official figure of 1.6L/100km. The Sorento does this because it acts as a hybrid vehicle once the battery gets low, so you really have four vehicles in one, an EV, plug-in hybrid, hybrid, and a petrol car. The Sorento also has plenty of family friendly features in the cabin, all the safety tech you would expect in a modern vehicle, and it even has a full-size spare tyre.
Ute of the Year
The Ford Ranger has added another feather to its already full bow, with the introduction of a plug-in hybrid version to the acclaimed range. But the Ranger PHEV’s real party piece is the 6.9kW of power available via Pro Power Onboard with three power outlets, two 15-Amp outlets in the load box and one 10-Amp outlet in the cabin.
The Pro Power Onboard has been designed to operate with the engine off, in complete silence, with the vehicle locked and secured. However, if the battery is drained during this process, the driver has the option to recharge the 11.8kWh battery via the petrol engine, effectively acting like a generator. It also has the added advantage of boosting the electric air conditioning and heating system, for an extra cool or hot cabin, in great time.
SUV of the Year
I’m very fond of a performance SUV and firmly believe if you are going to choose an SUV over a family wagon, then you might as well go all out. So, the Audi RS Q8 performance was my obvious choice in 2025 and it has the honour of being the most powerful series-produced combustion engine model in Audi Sport’s history.
The cabin of the RS Q8 is beautiful, with a lovely aroma from the leather seats, and fantastic audio thanks to Bang & Olufsen 3D Advanced Sound System. There is room for four adults and the boot is a good size, and did I mention that it can do 0-100km/h in 3.6 seconds and set the SUV lap record of 7:36.698 minutes at the legendary Nürburgring Nordschleife circuit!
In addition to the previously mentioned Kia Sorento, I also wanted to give a shout out to the GMC Yukon Denali. This is a full-size American SUV that will fit eight adults in comfort with room to carry their gear in the boot! I also achieve a very impressive fuel figure from the 6.2 litre V8 engine of 11.8L/100km, beating the official figure by one litre per 100km.
Performance Car of the Year
This was by far the hardest category to choose for 2025 because I have driven some pretty spectacular super cars in 2025! From the Corvette Z06, to the Ferrari Roma Spider, two McLarens in the Artura Spider and the 750S, and an Aston Martin Vantage Coupe. But there could be only one winner and for 2025 it had to be the Aston Martin Vanquish Coupe!
Its looks, class, history, and most of all the twin-turbo charged V12 engine held the Vanquish head and shoulders above the other super cars that I drove in 2025.
Falling on love with the cars that I drive is definitely an occupational hazard of this job and I fell head over heels for the Vanquish. This grand tourer is a feist for all of your senses all of the time, and if I had to choose one super car from 2025, it’s the one I would put in my garage. Does anyone have the winning Powerball numbers for this week?
Fun Cars of the Year
In 2025, I’m not giving my Fun Car of the Year to one vehicle, but rather a group of vehicles. The M cars that I have driven in 2025 have all left an indelible smile on my face for different reasons.
The BMW M4 CS reminded me a lot of the M Cars of old, particularly the iconic E46 M3. The M4 CS is powered by a 3.0-litre inline-six-cylinder twin-turbo petrol engine with not a hint of electricity in sight. It weighs in at just 1,835kg and the use of components made from carbon fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP) both inside and out is of key importance here. A sub-two tonne weigh in is unheard for any vehicle with added battery power, so the M4 does not have to overcome any extra weight before you get to feel the force of the lovely in-line six engine.
The BMW M5 on the other hand combines a 4.4 litre V8 engine and a 18.6kWh plug-in hybrid battery. The M5 can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.5 seconds, but is actually two-tenths slower than the outgoing M5 Competition and this is due in part to the new M5 tipping the scales at 2435kg, a massive 540kg gain compared to the M5 Competition, attributed largely to its battery pack. The battery does add a boost mode party trick though and the M5 is a large sedan that your family will enjoy.
The third M car from 2025 is the BMW X3 M50 xDrive, powered by a 3.0-litre M TwinPower Turbo in-line six engine combined with mild-hybrid technology. I know I said at the top of the article that I think MHEVs are kind of pointless, but the X3 M50 takes the award for best use of MHEV technology with its boost mode. The X3 M50 xDrive will do 0-100km/h in 4.6-seconds, an improvement of 0.2-seconds on the X3 M40i. The X3 also does the rest of SUV-ing well with space and tech for your family of four.
Driven Women Magazine’s Car of the Year 2025
That leaves us with just one category left to announce, Drive Women Magazine’s Car of the Year 2025! For this year I can say that the winner not only took out the overall award, but it was also my Son’s Car of the Year and my Daughter’s Car of the Year because I didn’t drive a Mustang in 2025.
The Mercedes-AMG E 53 Hybrid 4MATIC+ is the first of the new generation electrified Mercedes-AMG vehicles that I really liked. The basis for the sporty and efficient drive in the E 53 is the clever AMG 3.0-litre in-line six-cylinder turbo engine combined with a 120kW plug-in electric motor, translating into dynamic acceleration from 0-100 km/h in 3.8 seconds when you use RACE START, offered as standard for the Australian market.
But the performance was just the beginning and what I really loved about the E 53 was the cabin tech and that sealed the deal for its win. This vehicle has the first useful passenger screen that I have ever seen, with built-in internet, so your front seat passenger can stream their favourite show or become the hail spotter when there are thunderstorms about.
There were plenty of special features on this E-Class that I wasn’t expecting including the very cool start up and shutdown display from the headlights that even display ‘AMG’ as they are dancing. The light show continues inside the cabin, not just thanks to the MBUX Superscreen with a 14.4-inch central display and the aforementioned 12.3-inch passenger display. But because the E 53 has Active Ambient Lighting, that beats in time with the music you blast on the exceptional Burmester 4D surround sound system with 17 speakers to complete the atmosphere. This is the best ambient lighting of any vehicle I have ever driven and it made me very happy. And that’s why the Mercedes-AMG E 53 Hybrid 4MATIC+ is Driven Women Magazine’s Car of the Year for 2025!
I would also like to give Highly Commended awards to a couple more exceptional sedans that I drove in 2025, the refreshed Toyota Camry SL and the all-new Kia K4 GT-Line. Both are a breath of fresh air in the passenger car market, proving that the sedan isn’t quite dead yet.
I hope you have enjoyed the ride as much as my family and I have done and here’s to an exceptional 2026, driving even more fabulous vehicles.
Happy Driving!
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Photographs by Driven Women Magazine.