Chasing Cars has crowned the Hyundai Santa Fe as its 2025 Car of the Year.
Hyundai’s latest family SUV emerged as the outright winner from a vast, eclectic field of vehicles comprising 35 different make-models – and a total of 50 variants – from 20 brands.
The Santa Fe was among the majority of contenders selected on merit as the most impressive vehicles to have been reviewed by Chasing Cars in the past 12-18 months.
There were also several ‘wildcards’ – vehicles so new that they had yet to be tested or even officially launched in Australia at the time.
Chasing Cars conducted its intensive Car of the Year test program over six days at a dedicated private facility, with the judging incorporating the following processes for every make-model:
- Interrogating price lists and features for value
- Inspecting interiors for quality, practicality and versatility
- Assessing ride comfort and driver-aid technology on public roads around regional NSW and Canberra
- Testing vehicle dynamics and vehicle performance at the Sutton Road Training Centre in the ACT
Aside from the overall winner, the Chasing Cars team also awarded six separate Best New Cars 2025 sub-awards.
Click the links and videos below to learn more about each of them.
