2017 Drive Car Of The Year

Australia's most relevant new car awards program has entered its second decade as the 2017 Drive Car of the Year testing process comes to a close.

As Australia's most relevant motoring awards, Drive's Car of the Year process takes into account the priorities of Australian consumers.

We examine hundreds of cars through the year, using road tests and group comparisons to hone in on the best cars in each class.

The year's finest new models are invited to our annual Drive Car of the Year process, to be tested against previous category winners in 15 key segments that serve as benchmarks for the latest models.

Three key changes to the test process in 2017 reflect the Australian car market today.

The booming popularity of go-anywhere dual cab utes and conventional four-wheel-drives prompted us to add an extra element to the test schedule, tackling off-road tracks to test multi-purpose cars in their element.

In contrast, people movers have fallen from favour as families switch to seven-seat SUVs to haul the clan around. With no new people movers arriving in 2017 ? and few on the horizon - we pressed pause on a category with slipping appeal for Australian drivers.

You could not say the same for luxury SUVs, a booming segment experiencing remarkable growth. Recognising the significance of plush crossovers, we split the Best Luxury SUV award into two categories examining the best models priced above and below $80,000, the same divide we use for regular luxury cars.

In the end, we hand-picked 51 of the best cars on the market in 2017 for six days of testing at Wakefield Park, near Goulburn in rural NSW, that includes real-world evaluation on a combination of country and urban roads as well as freeways, and a series of simulated emergency situations in a controlled environment on the track to test dynamic and safety attributes.

Each of the finalists is driven by six expert judges from the Drive Network, which then decides the winners in each category. All new-for-2017 class winners are then eligible to be considered as one of five finalists for the Overall Car of the Year award. In the end, the best of the best rises to the top as the vehicle that sets new benchmarks for its class.