Kicking off the 2022 AA DRIVEN New Zealand Car of the Year

New Zealand’s biggest automotive car awards – the AA DRIVEN New Zealand Car of the Year - kicks off tomorrow with the announcement of the first group of finalists and the launch of voting for the 2022 People’s Choice award.

The AA DRIVEN New Zealand Car of the Year recognises the diversity and eclectic nature of new car brands and models on sale across the country, selecting and profiling the year’s best vehicles and offering consumer information on the best in each class.

Dean Evans, Editor of DRIVEN, says: “the awards are a fantastic opportunity to highlight and celebrate the year’s best in the automotive industry and provide consumers with the information they need to make an informed choice for their next vehicle, whether EV or SUV.

“Choosing your next vehicle is a big investment and it’s one you want to get right. Thanks to our expert panel of judges with more than 100 years of combined motoring experience, and who collectively drive more than 200 new cars per year, we’re able to narrow down the top vehicles to help consumers find the best vehicle for their lifestyle,” he says.

The classes of the AA DRIVEN NZ Car of the Year competition include SUV (small, medium, large), Clean Cars (BEV, PHEV, HEV), Passenger (sedan, hatch, wagon, MPV), Sports & Performance, Light Commercial Vehicle (van, ute), and Luxury ($100k+). The AA Safest Car award is also given to the car with the highest ANCAP crash rating score.

One very popular award of the AA DRIVEN NZ Car of the Year is the People’s Choice award, where the public casts its vote from the top 15 vehicles sold in New Zealand between January to October 2022. Registered voters have a chance to win $5000* of fuel, either petrol or EV charge credit, thanks to AA SmartFuel and ChargeNet.

The top three finalists in each class will be profiled each Friday throughout November on the Zooming with DRIVEN webcast and inside DRIVEN magazine in the Weekend Herald.

The class winners, along with the overall top three and outright winner of AA DRIVEN Car of the Year 2022 will be announced on Friday 2 December on the Zooming with DRIVEN webcast hosted by DRIVEN ambassador and Coast Breakfast radio host Sam Wallace. They will also be featured inside DRIVEN’s Saturday 3 December magazine inside the Weekend Herald.

The 2021 AA DRIVEN Car of the Year was the Toyota GR Yaris, while the Tesla Model 3 won the 2021 People’s Choice vote.

ENDS