EVs among top contenders for AA Driven Car of the Year

Nearly a third of the top 10 contenders in the running for the AA Driven Car of the Year Awards are electric or hybrid models.

They are the all-electric Jaguar I-Pace and Tesla Model 3, plus the hybrid Toyota RAV4.

The awards to be announced on December 10 include Best in Class and the People’s Choice Award.

A panel of judges has selected the top 10, featuring vehicles in a range of classes and prices. In alphabetical order, they are the BMW 3 Series, Ford Focus, Holden Acadia, Jaguar I-Pace, Mazda3, Peugeot 508, Renault Megane RS, Tesla Model 3, Toyota RAV4 and Toyota Supra.

“From everyday use family vehicles to luxury, sports performance and hot hatches, and prices from $31,990 (for the Ford Focus) to $144,900 (for the base model Jaguar I-Pace), there’s a great mix of vehicles in this year’s top 10,” chief judge Liz Dobson says.

AA Motoring Services general manager Stella Stocks says the top 10 have been put through their paces in a rigorous trial both on the road and at the Pukekohe Park Raceway.

“Each of the top 10 finalists have been put through a set of exercises that saw all judges scoring from the driver’s seat. To top it off, Kiwis can see what went on in the testing process with video content from the trials that includes commentary from the judges.”