Independent safety ratings for some of Australia’s top-selling new models – from the Mazda CX-5 to the single-cab Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series – have run out of road.
Another batch of Australia’s top-selling new cars – many with five-star scores, such as the Mazda CX-5 and Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series single-cab – have lost their safety ratings from today.
All are expected to remain on sale – as they still meet less stringent government motor-vehicle safety regulations – but the lack of five-star ratings for many of the vehicles may rule-out examples built from today from use in fleets which require top crash-test scores.
It is the second batch of new vehicles to be stripped of their Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) ratings after the oldest safety scores – for models tested as long ago as 2008 – expired after 31 December 2022.
Safety ratings will now be valid for six calendar years – plus the year in which the vehicle was tested – to make it easier for consumers to compare vehicles tested under the latest ANCAP criteria, and those tested under previous, less strict protocols.
Before the expiry dates were introduced, car manufacturers could continue to advertise five-star safety ratings from more than a decade ago – alongside newly-introduced vehicles tested to the latest and most stringent criteria.
There are no known changes to the safety equipment of vehicles which are stripped of their safety ratings from today – most of which were crash-tested in 2017, with a handful rated in 2016 – compared to examples built last year.
However examples manufactured from 1 January 2024 will be marked by ANCAP as ‘unrated’ – even if they are identical to those built on 31 December 2022, when its crash-test score was valid.
Top-selling models such as the Toyota HiLux, Ford Ranger, Isuzu D-Max, Toyota Corolla, Toyota RAV4 and Tesla Model Y are not affected for now, as their safety ratings are more recent.
Among the hardest hit by the expired safety scores are set to be fleets, as vehicles built and delivered after 1 January 2024 which have just lost their five-star safety ratings – as mandated by many businesses – may not be allowed on worksites, whereas those produced and delivered before the end of 2023 may continue to be permitted.
Car manufacturers can submit their vehicles to be re-tested by ANCAP and have the six-year expiry reset – but they will be subjected to the latest test criteria, which are far more stringent than those in place in 2016 or 2017.
Vehicles which have not received safety upgrades since their original ANCAP score was issued are unlikely to match their previous performance in crash tests.
Drive is aware of only one car maker considering submitting an ageing vehicle to be re-tested, Kia and its pint-sized Picanto – as reported in June 2023 – as an updated model with more safety equipment is now on sale. However it is yet to be confirmed if it will proceed with the re-testing.
Most of the 30 models affected – such as the Ford Mustang, Skoda Kodiaq, Toyota C-HR and Subaru Impreza – are nearing the end of their life cycles, and are due to be replaced by all-new vehicles within the next 12 months.
Other impacted vehicles such as the Kia Stinger, Jeep Cherokee and Mazda CX-9 have already been discontinued – with no new model on the horizon – and ended production well before 31 December 2023.
Unless they are re-tested to the latest criteria – or a new model arrives – a further 32 vehicles are due to lose their ANCAP safety ratings from 1 January 2025, including popular models such as the MG ZS, Hyundai i30 hatch, Suzuki Jimny and Toyota Corolla.
The past 12 months were big for new-car launches – but also saw plenty of old favourites depart Australian showrooms. Here’s every car axed in Australia in 2023.
In 2023, Australia welcomed a host of new car brands and models to our roads, from a wave of cut-price Chinese SUVs and electric cars to new hot hatchbacks and hardcore four-wheel-drive SUVs.
However, as new models enter the market, others – including some on sale for close to 50 years – depart.
Here is every car axed in Australia – which either had its production run end, or time called by its manufacturer – in 2023.
Is there a car we’ve missed? And which cars will you be sad to see go? Let us know in the comments.
Audi A8
After close to 30 years in showrooms, the Audi A8 limousine has met its end in Australia amid sales that are a fraction of their peak a decade ago.
It will remain available in high-performance S8 form – with a twin-turbo petrol V8 – but regular versions with ‘A8’ on the boot lid will not continue beyond Model Year 2023.
Sales have slowed from a peak of 125 in 2011 – when there were six models available, across three engines – to just 17 over the first 11 months of 2023, when buyers could choose just one engine (a 3.0-litre turbo-diesel V6) in short- and long-wheelbase bodies.
Another of Audi’s longest-running nameplates, the TT sports car ended production for global markets in November 2023 after more than 25 years and 662,762 examples.
The Volkswagen Golf and Audi A3 loaned their underpinnings for three generations of TT – the iconic 1930s Bauhaus-inspired original of 1998, the second generation of 2006, and the latest model introduced in 2014 – in coupe and Roadster body styles.
More than 8500 examples have been reported as sold in Australia – across an estimated 2500 first, 4000 second and 2000 third-generation versions – since it arrived in local showrooms in May 1999.
The TT has been farewelled in Australia with a Final Edition, which adds unique styling – inspired by the hero TT RS five-cylinder and sporty TTS four-cylinder – to the entry-level TT 45 TFSI four-cylinder model. Stock is expected to remain until sometime in 2024.
Ford Australia called time on the Escape mid-size SUV in April 2023 – with the final examples arriving locally in recent months – 22 years after the nameplate debuted locally.
The original Escape introduced in 2001 was based on the Mazda Tribute SUV – as the US car giant owned a third of the Japanese manufacturer at that time – and was given four major updates over its 11-year life.
It was replaced by a European-built vehicle in 2012, sold as the Ford Kuga until its midlife facelift in 2016 when the Escape name returned.
The latest-generation, European-made Escape was introduced in 2020, and added the option of plug-in hybrid power in 2022 – but it is one of the slowest-selling vehicles in the mid-size SUV class dominated by the Toyota RAV4 and Mazda CX-5.
Between 2001 and November 2023, Ford Australia has reported 71,501 Escapes and Kugas as sold – split across 30,473 Mazda-based Escapes, 19,584 Kugas, about 14,300 second-generation Escapes (2017 to 2020), and about 6800 of the latest model.
The new Hyundai Kona small SUV range arrived in Australia in mid-2023 – with a sporty N Line variant – but there will not be a high-performance N version for the foreseeable future.
The Kona N – sold for the final two years of the first-generation Kona’s life cycle – was among the slowest sellers in the Hyundai N range, as a high-riding version of the i30 N hot hatch.
The 2.0-litre turbo engine in the outgoing Kona N – as well as the i30 N hatch and i30 Sedan N – is a decade old and nearing the end of the line, while it is understood the new Kona body has not been developed to accommodate Hyundai’s larger and newer 2.5-litre turbo engine.
There has been speculation about an electric Kona N, but Hyundai N executives have said the 400-volt electric technology and battery inside the new Kona Electric is not capable of supporting the racetrack capabilities expected of a Hyundai N performance car.
Arguably Australia’s highest-profile new-vehicle axing of 2023 was the Kia Stinger, the South Korean brand’s first attempt at a rear-wheel-drive, high-powered sports sedan for global markets.
Although its discontinuation was announced in late December 2022, production did not end until April or May 2023 – and the final examples are expected to be delivered in Australia imminently.
It was a relative success in Australia, with 11,455 examples reported as sold locally from its late 2017 launch to November 2023 – and it posted its best sales in its final full year in showrooms, 2022, with 2242 deliveries.
However, it was not received as well internationally – amid a global decline in sales of large sedans – and sales dropped from their peak of approximately 33,000 in 2018 to 15,000 in 2022.
Most Kia Stingers sold in Australia were twin-turbo V6-powered 330S, 330Si and GT versions, which found favour with private buyers, as well as police in Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory.
The other Kia nameplate dropped in Australia in 2023 was the Rio city hatch, which concluded production in the middle of the year.
There will be a new model for certain developing markets – wearing the K3 name – but it will not be manufactured in right-hand drive, nor will it be sold in left-hand-drive Western European markets.
It comes amid a continued decline in city-car sales in developed markets, as SUVs grow in popularity, and it becomes increasingly difficult to produce small hatchbacks at a profit that can earn top marks in independent crash testing while retaining low prices.
Kia Australia has reported 166,059 Rio sales between its launch in 2000 and November 2023 – with its best year the only time the nameplate eclipsed 10,000 sales in a calendar year, with 10,284 deliveries in 2008. In 2022 it reported 4576 deliveries.
The introduction of Mazda’s new, more expensive range of luxury SUVs has claimed its two largest seven-seaters in showrooms today: the narrow-body, CX-5-based CX-8 and the wider, US-focused CX-9.
The axe fell on the CX-9 in March 2023 – with the final stock arriving late in the year – while news of the CX-8’s demise was announced in October 2023, though stock is expected to remain in dealers until early 2024.
The CX-9 has been indirectly replaced by the CX-90 – and the CX-8 will be succeeded by the CX-80 – but both are much more expensive six-cylinder vehicles, with starting prices close to the top-of-the-range versions of their predecessors.
Since the original arrived in 2007, Mazda Australia has reported close to 93,000 CX-9s as sold – across about 40,000 first and 53,000 second-generation models – as well as 24,870 CX-8s since launch in 2018.
The Mazda MX-30 was introduced in 2021, available in mild-hybrid petrol and solely-electric variants – the latter becoming the Japanese car maker’s first electric vehicle.
However, slow sales – just 2297 from mid-2021 to November 2023 – influenced by its unconventional rear-hinged back passenger doors and higher prices than its CX-30 twin under the skin led to its axing in Australia in October 2023, shortly after it was dropped in the US.
With a short 200km claimed driving range and $65,000 price tag, the electric model accounted for six per cent of Mazda MX-30s sold from launch until September 2023 – or 130 vehicles.
The taller and more practical sibling to the Mercedes-Benz A-Class hatch – the B-Class – was dropped from the local line-up in 2023, when plans to introduce in Australia an updated model on sale in Europe were scrapped.
The B-Class was introduced in Australia in late 2005, and was successful enough in its early years – in addition to styling and size similarities between the vehicles – to see the A-Class placed on hiatus in 2010.
Sales peaked in 2013 with 3248 deliveries reported, but the return of the A-Class the same year – as a sleeker, more conventionally-styled vehicle – saw the B-Class post nine sales declines over the next 10 years.
Just 284 were reported as sold in 2022, for a total of 25,009 vehicles since launch in 2005. In comparison, Mercedes-Benz has delivered nearly as many A-Class vehicles in the past seven years.
Production of the Mercedes-Benz CLS – the sleeker, coupe-inspired sibling to the E-Class – ended for global markets in August 2023, just short of its 20th anniversary internationally in 2024, with no new model on the way.
The pioneer of the now-popular ‘four-door coupe’ body style, its best sales year in Europe was 2006 – when 20,262 examples were delivered – but just 2155 were sold in 2021.
In Australia – where the range was cut to a single AMG model in late 2021 – sales peaked in the CLS sedan’s first year on sale, 2005, with 540 deliveries. In 2022 just 55 were sold locally, and in total 5001 have been sold since launch.
The Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 coupe and Spyder convertible – the fastest 718s sold by Porsche until the 911 GT3-powered Cayman GT4 RS coupe and Spyder RS open-top – departed the global model range in mid-2023.
The cars were in production for three-and-a-half years – significantly longer than most Porsche GT models, which are typically sold for about two years before the standard model on which they are based is given a facelift, or an all-new model arrives.
However, the life cycles of the 718 Boxster and Cayman are twice as long as their predecessors – and they have skipped a midlife facelift – as one or both vehicles are due to be replaced by electric models in 2024 or 2025.
Ram 1500 TRX
The end of the most powerful production pick-up sold in Australia – the 523kW supercharged V8 Ram 1500 TRX – was announced earlier in 2023.
Production is due to conclude in the US for global markets by the end of 2023, though it is unclear when the final batch of vehicles arrived in Australia, and if all have been converted from left- to right-hand drive.
It will be succeeded in the US by a new RHO variant, with similar off-road hardware – but a less powerful, circa-404kW turbocharged inline six-cylinder engine in place of the V8.
The regular Ram 1500 range in the US has dropped V8 power for its facelift, but Australian arrival timing is yet to be announced – so we have elected to keep it off this list for now.
The older and more affordable version of the Ram 1500 – the DS series, which was introduced in the US in 2009, and helped establish Ram Trucks in Australia five years ago – is being phased out in Australia.
It will remain on sale in the US for the immediate future, but locally it will be indirectly replaced by an entry-level Big Horn version of the newer DT-series Ram 1500 – though at $119,450 plus on-road costs it is about $20,000 more expensive than the cheapest DS-series variant.
The plug was formally pulled on Tesla’s largest electric passenger vehicles, the Model S sedan and Model X SUV, in Australia during 2023.
Both vehicles had been in limbo for more than two years, as order books for updated versions were opened in January 2021 with the promise of first deliveries in 2022 – but pricing and delivery timing was pulled from the website in late 2021.
Pre-orders closed in April 2023, before Tesla announced a month later neither vehicle would be produced in right-hand drive – and all deposits placed over the prior two years would be refunded.
The updated Model S and Model X were made available in the right-hand-drive UK and Japanese markets, but with the steering wheel on the left-hand side – as unlike Australia, it is legal in those countries to sell and register new left-hand-drive cars for road use.
Volkswagen Passat wagon, Golf wagon and Arteon
Ahead of its roll-out of electric vehicles in 2024, Volkswagen Australia cut six of its slowest-selling models from its line-up in the second half of 2023.
Leading the vehicles on the chopping block was the Passat, the company’s oldest model name in Australia, launched in Australia in 1974.
Sold to private buyers in wagon form only since late 2021, just 650 Passat wagons and 216 high-riding Passat Alltrack wagons were reported as sold from January to November 2023 – down from its 21st-century peak of 4362 reported sales in 2013.
A new Passat has been unveiled for Europe – exclusively in a wagon body style – but it will not be introduced in Australia. The next generation of its Skoda Superb twin – which is more closely related to the Passat than ever before – is due in Australia in early 2025.
Also departing Australian showrooms is the Arteon liftback and wagon duo – the Passat’s sleeker, sportier twin – which has been axed globally, plus the Golf wagon, which accounted for less than 10 per cent of Golf sales locally.
Australia is not the only part of the world that lost a number of significant cars in 2023.
Cars never sold here – or cars that were discontinued here but lived on overseas – that will now head to retirement include:
Audi R8 (details) – discontinued in Australia in 2021 but continued overseas
Chevrolet Camaro (details) – axed here in 2020 but continued overseas
Chrysler 300 (details) – axed here in 2020 but continued overseas
Dodge Challenger and Charger V8 (details) – never sold here, but are Dodge’s last V8 muscle cars; electric and turbo six-cylinder replacements are due in 2024
Honda E (details) – a cute electric car never sold here
Toyota FJ Cruiser (details) – discontinued here in 2017, but remained in showrooms until early 2023 overseas
A number of model grades were dropped from Australian vehicle line-ups in 2023, as manufacturers culled slow-selling variants. These include, but are not limited to:
Jeep Compass non-hybrid petrol and diesel (details)
The Drive team look back on the past 12 months and share their thoughts on what made it a year to remember, and what we’ll try to forget.
The world largely returned to ‘normal’ in 2023, with a raft of new models and fresh stock triggering the first showroom deals in years, as well as record new-car sales… but not everything was a win.
Here’s what the Drive team felt were the biggest Hits and Misses of 2023.
James Ward
Hit: Affordable electric vehicles
Seeing not one but three electric cars break through the all-important $40,000 barrier this year has really cemented electric transport as part of our road landscape.
These are the cars that Australians have been asking for and each of the BYD Dolphin, MG 4 and GWM Ora offer plenty of features and fun underpinned by a practical electric platform.
Bring on better urban charging infrastructure and we’ll start to see stronger adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) in the cities, which is where they work best and are needed most.
Miss: Extreme price rises
We get it. The world has become a more expensive place to live, work and build things. The whole automotive manufacturing supply chain has seen increases in prices, and they have been reflected in the sticker prices of nearly every car on the market. But there’s a point at which CPI or inflation-based increases step aside and inequitable increases come into play.
The most notable example is the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon which has climbed $19,000 since 2021 with no change to the car itself.
Let’s hope next year sees a little more sensibility here.
It’s hard to go past the availability of some strong options at the more affordable end of the electric-vehicle market. I’m always cautious when I refer to a $40,000 car as ‘affordable’ because, for plenty of Aussie car buyers, that figure is out of reach. However, the fact remains that without the likes of MG and BYD, there wouldn’t be an affordable EV on sale in Australia.
Another point worth making is the release of the four-cylinder LandCruiser 70 Series. In an environment where the V8 simply can’t carry on, rural buyers especially needed some form of reassurance that Toyota would offer them something to continue the tradition of the no-frills workhorse. City buyers need not apply (even though they will), but the 70 carries on doing the things that rural buyers expect.
Miss: Bureaucracy
Governments – of all colours and levels – still missing the boat on removing their hands from under their collective bums and actually doing something about electric-vehicle charging infrastructure. The end of nonsense incentives is a start, but a lot more needs to be done as the sale of EVs continues to outpace the rollout of infrastructure.
Australians are buying EVs, as we’ve always said they would if they make sense to the individual. However, a road trip anywhere out of a major city is still soured by no chargers, not enough chargers, or chargers that don’t work.
It’s one thing for governments to encourage Aussies to buy EVs under the guise of helping the environment, but there needs to be tangible work on infrastructure, not just bleating.
Image Credit: Carla Gottgens/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Glenn Butler
Hit: GM’s decision to ditch Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
Very few cars do smartphone mirroring well. For reasons beyond my limited tech knowledge, some Apple CarPlay and Android Auto installations are glitchy, slow and sometimes even inoperable.
It’s not just a few brands with this problem, either; many of the cars I’ve driven this year – more than 120 different models from dozens of brands – suffered from stuttering smartphone integrations. Sadly, whether it’s the car brand or the phone brand to blame, the car brand cops it.
So good on GM for taking responsibility and forging a brave new path. I just hope it works, because cars and phones are only going to get more complex – and more invasive.
Miss: Government initiatives driving Australia’s motoring future
Call me old fashioned but I believe a good government proactively prepares a country for future prosperity, whereas our State and Federal Governments seem to focus on reactive tax legislation to bankroll bad decisions.
Victoria’s short-lived EV road user tax was ridiculous, as was the Federal Government’s tightening of the Luxury Car Tax criteria for fuel-efficient vehicles.
It all slows our transition to a more sustainable motoring future. Instead let’s revamp the entire GST, LCT, Stamp Duty, Fuel Excise, and registration mess for a system that makes safer and more economical cars more affordable to buy and own.
Susannah Guthrie
Hit: More affordable electric cars coming to Australia!
We’re not quite at price parity yet, but how exciting to see some options under the $40,000 mark. The arrival of the GWM Ora, MG 4 and BYD Dolphin have genuinely shifted the needle forward for people who were previously on the fence about making the switch to electric.
I hope this trend continues in 2024, and we see some more cars closer to $30,000 (maybe even under $30,000? Or am I dreaming?).
Miss – US trucks
The arrival of US-made super utes (cough, Yank tanks) like the Toyota Tundra and Ford F-150 might be exciting for those regularly towing, carrying heavy loads and tackling rocky terrain, but for city dwellers like myself it just means parking is about to get even more difficult.
I understand these mega-utes serve a genuine purpose for some, but as the rest of the world moves towards compact electric cars, their rise feels a little incongruous and even tone-deaf given the current climate. Sorry, Yank tank fans.
Rob Margeit
Hit: Affordable electric cars
Like everyone else, the influx of relatively affordable electric cars has placed EV ownership within reach of more people than ever before. While we have applauded the engineering and technological electric marvels from high-end premium manufacturers, the reality is they were only ever going to appeal to the top end of town.
But this year, thanks entirely to Chinese car makers like MG, BYD and GWM, electric cars have never been more affordable and within reach of everyday Australians.
Miss: Public charging stations for electric vehicles
Putting aside that there are not enough of them and parking frustration that there’s a better-than-even chance they are often fitted with the dreaded ‘Out of Order’ sign, the real frustration is that there are a multitude of apps needed to be able to use them.
Each charging provider seems to require their own app. At last count, we here at Drive have downloaded 11 (!) different apps in order to be able to access public charging facilities. Payment technology has moved at incredible speed the last few years so why electric charging providers haven’t embraced the simplicity and ubiquity of Paywave is beyond comprehension.
Sam Purcell
Hit: Ineos Grenadier
Perhaps it’s a reflection of my personality, but I feel the need to complain first about the most exciting new car in 2024 from my point of view. It’s way too expensive, conspicuously overweight, and has a few other flaws to note.
But the simple fact that the Ineos Grenadier – a literal brain fart of Britain’s wealthiest individual – has made it so far is cause for celebration. It goes against the grain of just about every car out there, championing old-fashioned values of utility, durability and practicality instead of comfort, all-out tech and convenience. And for a first swing from a newly-minted car brand, it’s impressively well executed.
Miss: Traffic sign recognition systems
It’s undoubtedly going to be fixed in due course, but the traffic sign recognition system in recent Hyundai and Kia vehicles shows that even the biggest and most proliferate carmakers can still let howlers slip through to the showroom floor.
I don’t like beeping at the best of times, and some iterations of this tech made me quite cranky in regular driving. With widespread backlash, fixes are coming. Some of the more recent Kias and Hyundais have already been improved, and we look forward to that improving even more and speading across the complete ranges of both brands.
Emma Notarfrancesco
Hit: Car companies that have allowed the V8 to live on
With automakers preparing to reach lofty EV goals, we’ve been witnessing the slow death of V8s, replaced with smaller, more fuel-efficient four- and six-cylinder engines.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against electric vehicles, but particular icons are still valuable and should be preserved. Thankfully, not everyone has followed the trend. Toyota has retained the V8 in the LandCruiser 70 Series (for now), Porsche with the updated Cayenne, and Ford with the Mustang, to name a few.
Miss: We’re not over COVID yet
It’s disappointing to see new-car prices skyrocketing, especially during a cost of living crises. We saw a rapid increase throughout the pandemic, but new cars remain incredibly expensive and difficult to acquire.
And by difficult, I mean, you still have to wait for more than a year for a RAV4? When will it end?!
Tom Fraser
Hit: Kia’s new EV range
Kia made waves in Australia at the beginning of 2023 for out-gunning its South Korean cousin Hyundai in the new car sales race, but the brand hasn’t put it feet up just yet.
In the latter half of the year the car-maker unveiled plans for not just one new electric vehicle, but three distinct debuts underpinned by the (frankly brilliant) E-GMP platform. Each of the three cars is aimed at proliferating the availability of electric vehicles around the world, and each uses a unique interpretation of Kia’s funky new styling language.
What’s better, Australians will be some of the first in the world to take advantage. The Kia EV5 is expected to arrive in 2024 as the most affordable electric vehicle from the brand yet. No doubt, you’ll be seeing a plethora of Kia electric vehicles on local roads in the near future.
Miss: Mitsubishi Triton Xtreme
Mid-way through the year I had the chance to drive the Mitsubishi Triton Xtreme and I almost immediately forgot about it.
Too little, too late, too expensive – the Triton Xtreme took a run-out model and introduced a series of upgrades (Supashock suspension, underbody protection, all-terrain tyres, etc.), but it didn’t do much for the car, which was nigh-on being replaced with an all-new generation.
Then came the $15,000 increase in price over the Triton GSR on which the Triton Xtreme was based… Walkinshaw does good work elsewhere in remanufacturing, but this release fell wide of the mark.
Ben Zachariah
Hit: MG 4
While the Ford F-150 nearly made it to my hit list, it’s the Effie’s polar opposite that deserves to be here more: The electric MG 4 hatch.
Many continue to crow about the shortcomings in cheap Chinese cars – and not necessarily without justification, mind – but the MG 4 is a different kettle of fish.
It marks not only a step forward in terms of build quality, but design, capability, and value. Tesla may have introduced the electric car to the world, but I suspect the MG 4 could be the one that cracks open the market segment to mainstream buyers.
It’s really that good – and if you don’t believe me, have an open mind and go and test-drive one. For many people, this will be the start of a new era.
Miss: Victorian Government’s EV tax
I’d originally written a few grumpy paragraphs about the inaction of Australia’s Federal Government on emissions laws. Clearly, ASIO was accessing my laptop and passed it on to the Minister, because now the Euro 6d emissions laws have been announced, and I have to find something else to be grumpy about.
So let’s talk about the Victorian Government, which had its Zero- and Low-Emissions Vehicle levy struck down by the courts a few months ago, forcing it to refund millions of unlawfully gained taxes back to Victorian motorists.
While taxes are good and ensure we have nice things, it was premature, discouraged the purchase of electric cars and plug-in hybrids, ill-thought out, and, as it turns out, was unconstitutional.
Alex Misoyannis
Hit: The peak of internal combustion
We keep hearing and writing about the death of fast internal-combustion-engined cars, yet the petrol-powered performance-car market got a huge boost in 2023.
Will most of these cars be dead in five years? Probably. But the fact they’re still here today is worth celebrating.
Miss: EV charging infrastructure
Electric vehicle sales are growing at a rapid pace, but the public charging network is still simply not good enough.
In nearly every EV I’ve driven this year, I’ve had a frustrating charging experience – whether it’s a charger not working correctly (or at all), long queues as other drivers insist on trickling energy into their nearly-full cars at a snail’s pace, and the charger refusing to connect with the car.
The only shining star here is the Tesla Supercharger network, which is consistently easy to use, reliable and widespread. Here’s hoping it encourages everyone else to up their game.
Jordan Mulach
Hit: Cars for enthusiasts
In a time when car-makers are investing more money into electric vehicles than ever before, it’s nice to see that there are still many enthusiast machines out there – even if they are being sold in fewer numbers at higher prices.
Though I don’t have the cash for any now, their existence means that when the price bubble eventually bursts, there will hopefully be ample supply on the used market well into the future.
Miss: New car prices
As others have touched on, ever-increasing prices. Discounts are a thing of the past, consumers are buying cars in droves despite a looming economic crisis. It’s disappointing to see some brands ditch their ‘budget’ roots and go upmarket, but thus the cosmic ballet goes on.
Bailey Mackin
Hit: No Cybertruck for Australia
My hit would be that the Tesla Cybertruck is showing no signs of heading Down Under. Its arrival would have paved the way for ridiculous car design and would have boosted the ego of already right-lane-hogging ute drivers. No one who would buy the Tesla Cybertruck would need a ute, it would be a purchase purely to be outlandish.
Petrol prices are a hard miss. I know there is so much at play that affects these prices, but come on. I won’t be alone when I say it needs to be policed more.
An Ampol on one side of the road will be a solid 20 cents more expensive than the Coles on the other side, and the next day it will be the other way around. Just ridiculous.
What are your thoughts? Where did 2023 win and where did it lose?
