It's a Win Win for Hyundai at Australia's Best Cars

SYDNEY – Nov 20, 2013: Hyundai Motor Company Australia has been recognised by Australia’s seven State and Territory based motoring clubs with two class-winners in the Australia’s Best Cars national awards for 2013.

After rigorous testing and analysis by the ABC judges, Hyundai received two coveted Australia’s Best Car awards, for the i30 Active Hatch and Santa Fe Highlander CRDi, in the Small Car under $35k and SUV$45k-$65k categories respectively.

“Again, Hyundai has proven to have an appealing combination of features and value with i30 and Santa Fe winning awards for consecutive years,” said Hyundai Motor Company Australia Chief Operating Officer, John Elsworth. “Both models are enjoying great success, and these accolades go a long way to reaffirm why Australian buyers are turning to Hyundai.”

The impressive i30 Active Hatch offers an unbeatable blend of performance, safety, economy and style with judges commenting “the i30 is particularly easy to drive and live with on a daily basis”. As a five time winner of the small car category, the i30 has well-established credentials as a leader in this growing and very competitive market segment.

“It was a toughly fought battle, which makes the Hyundai i30’s Australia’s Best Cars win for the second consecutive year an outstanding achievement,” said RACV’s Greg Hill. “Hyundai’s growing reputation for a high standard of build and finish is evident throughout the car, and with seven airbags, the i30 has a 5-star ANCAP rating and is among the best in class for safety.”

In the SUV $45k-65k category the Santa Fe Highlander has been recognised as delivering performance, comfort and convenience previously only expected from prestige Euro brands. “Astute buyers have realised they can get a fully equipped, top-of-the-range Santa Fe Highlander for around the same money as a similar-sized base or mid-spec model in many other brands.”

“The key to Santa Fe’s appeal is that it’s consistently good in almost every aspect of the buying process, long-term ownership and general driving ability, which is what buyers are looking for in an SUV over $45,000,” said RACV’s Greg Hill. “It is bigger than the increasingly popular compact SUVs, but unlike many of the larger all-terrain wagons, it isn’t cumbersome or intimidating to drive.”

While the People Mover category did not produce an overall winner, the Hyundai iMax performed well to achieve the highest overall score for a sixth successive year. "The Hyundai iMax topped the score sheet in this category, but we couldn't crown it a winner because its 4-star ANCAP safety rating is below what’s now expected from a vehicle that wins an Australia’s Best Cars award. All Australia’s Best Cars winners must now have the credentials required to get a 5-star ANCAP safety rating.”

The ABC Awards, presented by the Australian Automobile Association on behalf of Australia’s Motoring Clubs, is the nation’s most comprehensive and independent consumer focused vehicle testing and award program, and involves 12 months of continuous evaluation of vehicles available in the local market.

The 2013 process saw over 211 vehicles across 15 categories complete the exhaustive evaluation and assessment process focused on three main criteria: ‘Value for Money’, ‘Design and Function’ and ‘On the Road Performance’. A shortlist of 45 finalists were then rigorously road tested over five days and as well as performance, factors such as depreciation, running and repair costs, fuel consumption and safety are taken into consideration in selecting the category winning vehicles.

The national judging panel, headed by Mark Borlace with over 30 years motor industry experience, included 11 representatives from NRMA, RACV, RACQ, RAASA, RACWA, RACT and AANT.