'Wheels Car of the Year'. Where are they now? (2000-2009)

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We're taking a trip down memory lane, to look back at the 2000s winner of the world-renowned 'Wheels Car of the Year', to see which ones were worth picks and which are best confined to the history books.
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[@christopherryan7780]

I was a mechanic during these years (2008 onwards) and I can say hand on heart I have not driven many cars that can hold a candle up to the either the Accord Euro (any year model) or the NC MX5. The 6 speed manual’s in these cars rate imo as two of the nicest shifting gearboxes in a motor car. If that Euro had a bigger marketing budget it would have whipped the floor with the Camry. From memory I’ve seen less then 5 that simply needed alternators and that’s it (apart from the usual wear and tear) the BA Falcon is still a good looking car.

[@francistaylor1822]

we had a VE, Accord Euro - yep both were good but the Accord Euro was insane value for money.

[@jesus_built_my_hotrod]

AU has far superior build quality than BA

[@christopherryan7780]

@@jesus_built_my_hotrod it’s also what god would drive

[@benny9075]

I have a 2006 CL9 Accord Euro Luxury that I bought 3-4 years ago off a 95yo man with 69,000kms on it. Now sitting at about 117,000kms… and yep, just replaced the alternator. Was leaving my mechanics recently after he serviced it, and he said ‘Mate… that thing’ll outlast a Toyota’. I love the damn thing!!!!! Almost 20 years old and feels as solid as new!!!

[@Ben-wk9tp]

I’ve owned both and totally agree

[@peterbutcher4848]

Wheels was famous for its Holden bias

[@twisted_panties]

Holden > Ford, deal with it.

[@eraezr]

It was always funny watching them trying to prop up Monaro against the R34 GTR.

[@Bill-ki4zf]

.. and their VW bias!

[@MrJustapersn]

I mean you've gotta look at the so called "bad cars of the year" from a lens of where and why they were selected at the time. These models were all new, and the cars themselves were new so reliability couldn't really be measured. Judging it from a current perspective where the cars are 10-20 years old of course its not going to stack up. It's pretty unfair to look back and say hey we don't know why they picked these when it made a lot of sense at the time. The XC Barina, compared to the other econoboxes at the time was a class above. The Festiva, ancient Starlet, Daewoo Lanos, Hyundai Accent and the then 7 year old VW Polo were its main competitors. So to get a $14,990 shitbox like the XC Barina with the quietness and refinement of a larger car was basically unheard of in 2001. The Golf was a similar thing, back in 09 the base model had deals going all the time for 21,990 driveaway. You couldn't even buy a Corolla for that much and the VW felt so much better to drive and had nicer materials than its competitors when brand new, it was a lot of car for the money at the time. The Impreza again was a huge level above in refinement, they were chasing the premium brands for a Kmart price, and felt worlds apart from the GC8 it replaced which felt like cheap crap inside. The W204 also was the first C Class with the 6.2l AMG V8, not sure if I'd say car of the year but it definitely put a lot of supercars to shame at the time. The RX-8 again was a lot of performance in a very useable package at the time, with a price less than half the old RX-7 How on earth were they able to foresee the apex seals would have a such a short life when the thing just came out that year. The Aussie cars which you didn't seem to criticise for being COTY had a very large share of problems too. The shitty HFV6 in the VE, poor electrics as well as multitude of other issues. And of course the BA and Territory with their tailshaft issues, LCA, diff bushes, transmission issues and more. Its just that again, like the others, none of that really mattered because both cars were phenomenal leaps forward in their own right when new.

[@ethanwd]

Agreed - I think this would come across much better if they read the articles for each year, which outline why a specific car was chosen… they could then weigh up these highlights against their reliability, etc… Also, how many Ford Territories have you seen driving around with half the tailgate and/or fenders missing?! To me it seems like nearly every second one I see on the road!

[@mattdebyl8806]

Well said! I think the spirit of these was in the right place, but then the discussion seems to get overwhelmed by the idea that outright, long term reliability is the sole aim and therefore a car being ‘worthy’ of the title is based purely on that.

[@davidperry3531]

I basically agree with everything you have said. Wheels COTY was the respected award for many, many years ( don’t know what has happened this year though!) and the choices made for the awarded cars were made by a panel of respected motoring journalists and to criticise the cars now because some may not have been reliable, is rather unfair. Would you say that the original first COTY, the Renault R8 was rubbish because you don’t see any now? I don’t think so. I agree the Euro Accord was a class act and the Barina was the European model which was far, far better than the dross competition at the time. It was also far superior to the Daewoo based Barina afterwards which was rubbish. The Golf was great (and still is) a great car and at the time of sale it was by far the best drive (even in base form) than anything else on the market and was a value buy as well. I remember reading about all these awards at the time and I think you two guys should have done the same as your research is sadly lacking. It is coloured by your personal perception of the cars and how they have stood up to time. You have let yourselves down with this video- I think you should stick to just stick to your normal format.

[@fruitpunch5260]

Completely agree. It's true that these days, the difference between a standard VW Golf compared to a Corolla/3 is fairly minimal, but back then it was a huge difference. Long term reliability is only one factor when it comes to a new car purchase. If you're not keeping the car past 10 years there probably isn't a huge difference between these manufactures anyway. Of course, however, I would love if every car were as reliable as a Toyota.

[@madhardcorenick]

Got a BA here with nearly 555,000km on it. Still drive great on it original engine & transmission. I've owned it for nearly 16 years & it never left me stranded. Bloody great car!

[@willhooke]

You bought it new?

[@madhardcorenick]

@@willhooke It was only five years old when I bought it, it’s an ex fleet car

[@shoaib3385]

But it got a drinking problem lol

[@HOT-ROX.]

I got the factory LPG greentop wagon, cheap and reliable.

[@veneratedmortal4369]

Cars don't drive like them anymore either. That was when comfort and quietness were priority. Now it's just firm and sporty. I have actually driven over fully grown elephants in my old ba and not felt them.

[@shanewise1437]

My wife and I both have a VW Golf Mk6, one diesel, one petrol. Have had no issues at all - both have been great cars. My wife's from new - mine 2nd hand. Understand you both find a lot of issues with VWs - but these still drive well, and as you have noted if the cars are serviced and maintained well - they are a different vehicle to those that are thrashed and neglected. MK6 is a very under-rated model that improved a lot (under the skin) from the MK5, unlike previous golfs didn't have the rust problems.

[@alexleishman1080]

We’ve had all the cars mentioned during the Golf segment somewhere in the family, and all were good cars, all reliable for us too. But personally the interior and fuel economy of the Golf just left the Corolla and Mazda 3 for dead. The Mazda did come close though…

[@allanbriggs9007]

I'm not a Ford fan however our sponsor sold Fords. I bought a 2004 (I think) Ford Fairmont Ghia. I drive hard & fast. This car did 197,000kms. Never touched except for normal servicing. Very good car after the disaster of the AU Falcon.

[@arkyark8]

Fun fact: in the Grinch movie Jim Carrey (the Grinch) successfully pulls the tablecloth of a set table without disturbing the cups and plates. He was meant to send everything on the table crashing down. He walks away off screen with cloth in hand and the undisturbed set table in scene before walking back to the table to throw everything off the table and sending it crashing to the floor. It is a freak accident turned into improv comedic gold and it was perfectly caught on film for the movie.

[@ethanwd]

The MK6 Golf is a brilliant thing if you look after it, in every spec except the 1.4L. We owned a 2L TDI Comfortline with leather, etc, and it was a wonderful thing. Rode beautifully around town and on country roads; bucketloads of torque, great for overtaking etc. Mates have owned every single model in the range, and only the 1.4 seems underwhelming… but still drives better than an equivalent Corolla! Wheels car of the year is always based on the ‘full range’, so the R, GTI, TDI and 1.4 TSI all would’ve been given equal weighting in the judgement, too… We sold our 2010 Golf for a lightly used 2019 Outback, and we’re shocked at how poorly the Subaru interior is holding up by comparison. Same use and care, but the seams are coming apart on the seats, scratches on all of the plastics, steering wheel has disintegrated… meanwhile our old Golf was in near-perfect condition when we sold it! Side-note: based on the judgement of ‘how many do you still see on the roads today’, I’d say these have stood the test of time quite well. MK6 Golf’s seem to be everywhere…

[@arcticwhite8501]

Similar story here, we've had a 2.0TDI and a 1.6TDI in the family and the daily driveability, fuel economy and reliability were all excellent. Just stay away from the 1.4 TSI timebomb!

[@thecomedyspot11]

Well I’ve had a Mk6 Golf Wagon TSI (yes, THAT one) since new and it’s been the best car I’ve ever had. Yes there were a couple of recalls but the issues were fixed. Yes, I’ve replaced the timing chain recently but I felt it was worth it and it’s back to its old self. It had a premium feel compared to other cars I tested at the time. It was, and still is, so quiet when idling that I wondered on the first test drive whether it was on! Brilliant fuel economy. I worried a bit at the time that the wagon was made in Mexico but it’s been the most reliable of three new cars I’ve had, the other two being Japanese made Mazda 323 and Nissan Pulsar. I’ve more recently bought a near new Mk7.5 Golf Alltrack which is more powerful but also louder on idle and less fuel efficient, even if you endure the stop-start.

[@nic1503]

Agreed! Have had a Mk6 TSI (the turbo supercharged hand grenade) for a few years now and just done the timing chain on it with 196,000km on the clock. Always serviced and looked after though so maybe that's the kicker? In answer to the question of why the Golf and not a Mazda or a Corolla - because I have a sense of style and fun which neither of those provide.

[@tonestar0183]

Really enjoying these "Car of the Year" videos. So pleased to see you guys almost at 250k subscribers :)

[@jhref]

Getting mentioned by Throttle House helps

[@steveallen1340]

I’d never heard of that punk rocker song either. Just played it on Spotify and can confirm Adam’s disdain for it is valid.

[@Davo_enchilada]

I remember hearing it back then and having the same reaction as Adam. Was she deliberately taking the piss out of punks by equating them with hippies? or was she just an idiot..

[@turbotiger82]

​@Davo_enchilada she was a one hit wonder for a reason.

[@DMSVICAU]

@@Davo_enchilada Probably a BibleBasher (I Skimmed through it on KZbin (🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮))

[@lwilk100]

Geez… I don’t agree with the call on the Mk6 VW Golf. The TDI version (I owned one) was bullet proof, 5l per 100km fuel economy and really nice to drive. We put 250,000 + kms on ours, and just did regular maintenance. No other issues.

[@nk53nxg]

Probably because you maintained it, many do not and constantly skip servicing. Driving style also plays a part, if you thrash it everywhere you go and pull 5 G's around every bend then it will be shagged pretty quickly. Lots of short journeys when the engine never heats up to optimium temperature shortens the lifespan considerably too, which ia why many low km examples can be troublesome buckets. Japanese cars are still better reliability though.

[@offgridsa2372]

@@nk53nxg ours has 300,000km and drives like a new car still. I agree don't buy a diesel if you live In the inner city or are just doing lots of short trip stop start driving .....though that's not a golf thing it's just a diesel thing. We live rural so a lot of freeway driving or getting the engine hot pulling up through the hills and the cars been self maintained with 10k oil change intervals. Though as for being thrashed at 5g on every corner...we are definitely don't hold back on thrashing ours through the corners on local 100kph twisty country roads. With a good set of pilot sport tires I think the gulf has the Ballance perfect between pure handling and comfort for quite enthusiastic everyday driving. I do agree that ero cars In General could have some quirky generic maintenance issues that if you are paying someone to fix them could be a concern......but if your handy and can address them yourself they are often inexpensive to fix with aftermarket solutions. Quite a good car to live with overall.

[@Bill-ki4zf]

If yours didn't give trouble, you were just lucky.

[@club1fan552]

I bought a '98 Barina new (the model before the 2001 and inferior) and it was STILL the best car I have ever owned. Faultless. It came standard with Micheline tyres that gave me 220,000 kms. I lived over 1,000 m above sea level and the thing handled snow and ice, used virtually no fuel, had great performance, ride and handling, was a tardis inside and very comfortable. Would love another. You criticize it but give no reason. Hardly objective chaps...

[@markburmester6247]

I've had 2 (post facelift) 2011 W204 C250s across 13 years. Second one was sold last year with almost 200k on the clock. Had electric everything, driver assist etc. Never had 1 issue with it. Both were great to drive, built like tanks (not a squeak or rattle to be heard), and economical.

[@motorraveraustralia6254]

I agree, especially the Diesel will last forever. Their videos always shit on the European cars but they are not as bad as they make them out to be.

[@HOT-ROX.]

My old 04 AWD territory is still going strong runs on LPG, cheap & reliable with regular maintenance.

[@ekinteko]

You guys should also do a "Car of the Year" from 1990-2020 based on your thoughts and experiences. Who agrees? I think the list would look very different to the list from Wheels.

[@mattdebyl8806]

Of course it would. Context / hindsight is a wonderful thing.

[@willstock957]

I'm with Adam on "I Wish I was a Punk Rocker". Second only to Abracadabra by Steve Miller Band as my most hated song of all time

[@sbultitude-paull303]

Geez I'm glad I'm not the only one who has an unbridled hatred for "I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker". Hated it when it came out and even more now. An ad came on in-between when it was announced and when it was critiqued in this vid, and during that time I bagged it out to my wife - who bought the single and would always play it in the car at the time. Was validated when Adam then ranted about it word-for-word what I'd said!

[@WazzaG076]

I bought a Mazda 2 when first released not long after the Mazda 6 appeared which began Mazda’s renaissance. Was told that it was built to the same specifications as the Mazda 6 and we still have it and I can vouch for that. The build quality and paint job is outstanding and I had a feeling it won somebody’s car of the year. It certainly won such an award in Japan.

[@muscle_car_guy2338]

The honda accord euro is so under rated and are now becoming such an icon for tuners and track cars on a budget. I tell you after taking one for a test drive I went right ahead and bought one. Mines sitting at 300,000kms and still going strong. I don't see myself getting rid of it. The best of the best tuner for these from fah performance is finally coming down to Adelaide. I can't wait to finally get tuned and open the car right up to be performance bias instead being like a grandpa car 😅.

[@grantm1891]

Yar…I offered my son an Accord Euro, my RS200 Clio Gordini or Nanna’s Corolla For his first car. He picked Nanna’s Corolla.

[@andrevanderwalt2515]

I had a XC barina, 1.4 CD manual when i first came to Australia. I drove it for 200,000km, when I got rear ended and it was written off. It was a fun little car that handled well. It was cheap to maintain. I still browse carsales every so often to see what they are like now...

[@thesolver1970]

yeah we had one of the two doors for 13 years from new. Gutless, but around town it was great and not a single problem with it. Got a new Peugeot 208 to replace it - its also a great car and still going well, not a single problem with it and is as new at 10 years old now... Fun fact, both the Barina and the 208 were/are on their factory batteries, go figure.

[@user-vk4vd7vr5t]

The 1.8 SRi with the manual was a hoot

[@mattploij2673]

mum had a corsa for a bit, they were everywhere in the UK. they are still a cult car from the max speeding days in pretty much everywhere else in the world. loads better than any of the daewoo trash barinas that came after

[@Madero775]

So did I. Was my first car. Was actually a great little city car for me, fun around corners and never had issues with it. Drove it on a 2000km road trip filled with my belongings when moving across the country too.

[@shakethedrummer2351]

That Punk rocker song Easiest way to get me to leave the room and hurl myself into the river Fellow drummer/musician here

[@mentalLV]

Latvian police indeed used Subaru Impreza WRX, but it was facelifted one from 2007. In fact these were first unmarked police cars here so we used to flinch at the sight of any black or grey 2007 WRX.

[@cserd8734]

My W204 blew its timing chain 4 weeks ago at 120,000k … more to repair than the car is worth. 3rd Mercedes I’ve owned never again.

[@timduncan1406]

the territory 20 years later is still a fantastic car for the price of them and also compared to any other suv/7 seater vehicles of that time period

[@thesolver1970]

yeah, my AWD Ghia now has around 300k km on it - despite other much nicer cars, I keep using the Territory - it just goes and its so versatile. If it dies or is in a crash I'll be looking for a mint turbo ghia.

[@carsella11]

I bought a 2008 Tdi Golf new. It felt way more solid than any Japanese offerings and I used to do big km so comfort mattered which it offered. Mazda 3s have been ruined by association. Have you noticed that wherever there is a Commodore on blocks in the front yard, the girlfriend usually drives a clapped out Mazda 3?

[@gnwtiling]

😂 I have a VF commodore, and the Mrs has a Mazda 3 🎉. Lol socio economic bliss.

[@carsella11]

@@gnwtiling Yeah. But I don’t think yours is on blocks in the front yard yet? It was an important detail lol. Maybe the owner after the next one?

[@Low760]

​@@gnwtilingI have a V8 VF Calais v and my wife has a similar age sp25 Mazda3. So both not povo spec cars. But I also have historic plate cars and I have a gate so no front lawn.

[@offgridsa2372]

Have to say the mk6 golf as a gtd basically a gti with a 2lt tdi or even the lower spec mk6 with the slightly detuned but same 2lt tdi and 6 speed manual is great car. Ours has 300,000 km on it now and it still pulls like a train...great real world performance... (tourqe) and gives some crazy fuel economy never seen anything over 5lt/100km and at times less. Better than any mazda diesel on offer at the time. I agree the base spec petrol golf's mk6 was very average and unreliable. Yes a petrol mazda would be better.

[@xkimopye]

Just realised I own 3 wheels car of the years. VE SSV, NA MX5, Toyota 86. All are awesome.

[@michaelclark3192]

My parents had a Mk6 118tsi golf from new, the one with the supercharged and turbocharged engine and it was so smooth and solid feeling, plus did long drives in the country with ease and comfort. Also the engine had a lot of torque down low so it felt like a v6. But it was very unreliable breaking down multiple times under warranty - the coil packs and DSG transmission issues and then later the turbo blew along with an intake diverter flap which both were very expensive to fix all before 100k. The coils actually went bad 3 times causing a bad misfire and limp mode requiring towing. When I sold it in 2020 with 180km for them it had bad oil leaks and bushes that didn't pass rwc. Also my parents generally paid around $700 each service at a euro mechanic and it used over 1L of oil between services from new. But it was a beautiful car to drive and their Mazda CX-3 they replaced it with feels much cheaper even considering the tech and design.

[@jvvoid]

Please do the 80's. I want to hear what you have to say about the Camira. Maybe have a swear jar handy for that one.

[@davidperry3531]

I wouldn’t bother - these two guys were still in nappies then. Regardless, the Camira was a big step forward for Holden. It was only after they had been on the market a while that the faults started to appear. The final iteration (JC?) pretty well solved all the problems but the damage had already been done.

[@jvvoid]

@@davidperry3531 My parents had a JE. I loved it, and so did our mechanic. It drove beautifully, but more often than not, it could be seen in the repair bay, bonnet up.

[@scottburgess2263]

Would be great for these to go for a bit longer with discussions about the other contenders for that year - love these videos!

[@ianfrancejr1662]

This is awesome content, just requesting that you add some of the cars that they were competing with to put things into context and understand the car situation and tastes back then

[@PaulStewartAviation]

Interesting video. The BA, Territory and VE were all worthy winners. They were great cars considering the limited resources that the Aussies had and it's a tragedy when you consider how good they might have been if they didn't have so many enemies in the United States. The Territory especially was brilliant, albeit with some drivetrain problems which were mentioned. Other than that major facelift (that should have been an all-new car) to introduce the FG's interior, it was hung out to dry by the end. Should have got a diesel much earlier too (better than the silly turbo petrol, although having said that, there's a lot of performance SUVs on the road now so maybe it was just ahead of its time. )

[@thesolver1970]

this is great - love this format!!

[@cjmhall]

The 2009 Golf was miles ahead of its competition in terms of quality, engine options and refinement. I drove a Mazda 3 around the same time and it felt like a cheap plastic box by comparison.

[@davidperry3531]

Yes, these guys comments about the Golf vs the Mazda 3 were so wrong.

[@brucenicolle4019]

Really enjoying the trip down memory lane and the look back at "car of the year." Great work guys !

[@Timoth_666]

Bug eye was controversial after the GC8 but I reckon they’re cool af now.

[@ravipeiris4388]

Great series gentlemen ❤

[@user-ly1uu8mj1e]

Keep these episodes coming, there very enjoyable 👍🏼

[@williamhardes8081]

hi guys, loving your work. it's cool to see fellow Novocastrians doing great content. my other half and i argue about where we recon you are on some of your drives. how about doing a similar format but you debate/discuss as to which car should have got it when wheels got it wrong. btw. Jim, you forgot to mention that the BA barra v8 is a good engine too! as a boat anchor.

[@goannaj3243]

Did you hear about the Volvo police car in Canberra in '97 or '98? funny story if can find it. Basically I lived there 2 years and the news was all about a flash new Volvo wagon, and when they got it I was surprised it was to be pursuit, lasted 2 weeks before crashing. They still had old radar, pickup down the road method, should have stuck to that.

[@chevapi2]

I've got to say I've owned my Accord euro 2005 6speed for the last 12 (and still do), and it's been an extremely realiable car. With regular maintenance and sensible driving these cars will last you. On a few occasions my mechanic told me how suprised he saw seeing how long some of the original parts on my car have lasted 👍.

[@mvnorsel6354]

Its a perfect world with hindsight.

[@DumplingKiller]

love this series. Great work

[@brettwatson-will3388]

Bit harsh about the old bug eye Impreza guys, but regardless of what it looked like, it was still a great car. Eminem Without Me is a brilliant song. I can't argue with that. I agree with most of the cars on the Wheels Car Of The Year list however when this series is finished I would love to see RE DRIVENS Cars Of The Year list and your favourite songs and movies from those years also. That would be a fantastic video.

[@ScottMurrayBestFamilyCars]

I think it was a bit less 'paying for the award' and more like, 'Who are our biggest advertiser friends?' Also, it's 'Ty-poon-tang'. Because the ladies couldn't resist being pulled in.

[@trevorreeves5041]

Love my MX5 NC. easy to work on. fast in the twisties. every day driver.

[@GForceVRX]

Great episode guys, I agree with the Honda being way underrated. Love the Territory too

[@johnsutherland3191]

Loving ur content as also. Keep moving forward guys. 2012 rx8 spirit r... Cheer john in wanaka..

[@FlowStateNewOrleans]

I made it 34 seconds into that song that this yank had never heard of before this video. And now, even with all the warnings about how much you may hate a song, I'll never again look up a song you mention on this channel if I don't know it.

[@Wdeane1957]

Haha, you lasted longer than me. I couldn't remember it and with the short listen to it I realised why. It's the human response to severe trauma: you black out and delete from your memory the trauma so you don't have to relive it again :-)

[@deganellis]

Great vid guys, but now have that bloody Anastasia song in my head! Have a bog standard mk6 golf as a loan car from my mechanic and actually quite impressed with how composed and refined it is with almost 200k on the clock and 1t years old. Now just hoping it makes it the 20ks back to the mechanic tomorrow 😅

[@callumandrews4342]

BA Falcons are absolutely brilliant, I had a BA wagon with 340,000km and just kept going, my partner had BA XR6, probably one of the most reliable cars ive witnessed as a mechanic, took it to the Outback before we sold it and never missed a beat.

[@Adam-7_7_7]

Sick. Love the 90's wrap up, now this has dropped !

[@prymasz]

Bought a 2009 Accord Euro new and still have it. Replaced the alternator about 10 years ago. It’s got 256k on the odometer and no plans to sell it. Such a shame the GFC happened when it did, the engine that the Accord Euro was meant to get was out of this world.

[@Yorkman7]

Love the way Jim either thinks they are shit or are ok. No mucking around or trying to be all things to alI men. I had an Accord euro and sold it because I thought I needed something smaller. Worst car decision I have made in 55 years of driving.

[@ozamosantuwe]

We need a series for engines alone

[@swittick]

2001 should have gone to the 2nd gen of the 2nd Gen Mx5. They are still around, and a lot of them are being raced and daily driven.

[@velocity.3bl]

NB2 MX-5s are very good cars, still

[@jeremybean-hodges6397]

2nd gen MX5 was 90s

[@stuartwittick7110]

@@jeremybean-hodges6397 1 st series NB's were just a reskin of the NA, 2nd gen NB's brought the new mechanicals. The 2nd gen also brought the SP, SE and maybe the bullet versions.

[@B1Gboz]

Great video boys.. I’d love to see a what you guys think about all the PCOTY winners from motor mag..

[@markcompton6750]

I have an NC Niseko………still brilliant.

[@Orvieta]

The Holden Barina from 2001 is actually the Opel Corsa in Europe. They were popular things though. I do love the humor and reflections on popular culture a lot better than in the previous episode though, thumbs up! I remember around the mid2000's in Europe the Ford Mondeo won car of the year, you see virtually none left on the road of that era, so that's saying something.

[@aaaaplay]

Anecdotally, I’ve noticed most of the issues that Opel based Holdens have are heat related. From the clear coats failing to plastic parts detonating. I just don’t think they were built to last in our heat. At least not the Opel based stuff from circa 1995 - 2008 e.g Astra G/H, Vectra B/C, or Corsa B/C. That era was known for their very poor reliability in Australia. Then Holden switched to Korean built models - things only got worse 😂. But the last of the Opel based models we got were actually pretty good. The Insignia B and Astra K are pretty decent vehicles unlike their predecessors.

[@altezzar909]

W204 I think has stood the test of time. Not sure about aussie but around the world still going strong....😊

[@kingkire1556]

Expensive parts and servicing means many euro cars turn to shit here in Aust.

[@motorraveraustralia6254]

Yeah agree, the W204 is a great car and still many on the road especially the Diesel engines

[@altezzar909]

@kingkire1556 oh no wonder. Here in Malaysia automotive parts eventhough imported from Europe are reasonable..priced due to stiff competition from part vendor also low tax

[@Low760]

They aren't a very good car here. Mercedes poor qaulity.

[@keno88]

Terminator 2 Judgement Day is the best sequel out there. Shrek 2 is amazing but T2 pips it 😎

[@melissabarrett9750]

The worst thing about T2 is Edward Furlong... What an annoying little prat!

[@damienbull9291]

Just ask John Cadogan how the COTY awards were decided

[@mvnorsel6354]

He is a self titled ' car expert '.

[@velocity.3bl]

@@mvnorsel6354 and the title fits, does it not? Very concise and correct outlook on the automotive industry.

[@willhooke]

I was surprised to learn from him that many journalists wouldn't actually critique cars thoroughly because it would meant they wouldn't be invited next time 😕

[@markward2824]

@@willhookehappens in most forms of for profit journalism. Don’t upset the advertisers!! (Done some shitty, spend up big on media!) Also public figures… want them on your show, don’t upset them

[@davidperry3531]

He used to write for Wheels but won’t give them the time of day now- sour grapes, I think.

[@UncleJoeLITE]

This was a fun list. Some real shockers, Wheels.

[@fruitpunch5260]

Interesting because the W204 is considered by Merc enthusiasts to be one of the most reliable models as far as used Merc's goes. Curious to see the upcoming video!

[@thirdiearaullo8256]

How can the accord be underrated if it won car of the year?

[@1234EggNogg]

Probably referring to now as opposed to then.

[@markward2824]

Sales figures! In 2013 the Euro found just over 1800 local homes -- a 70 per cent drop on 2012. Jan 2014 to September 2014, just 583 Euros have been registered in Australia. At its peak, the Euro sold more than 10,000 units per annum (2005)

[@54FLEX45]

Seen almost exclusively as a vehicle to get retirees to the bowling club and back.

[@markrobinson1291]

My last daily hack was a Honda Accord Euro, 2.4, 6 speed manual, t'was a great car, comfy, reliable, great on fuel and was a pleasure to own and drive, it has now been handed down to the boy, it has a PCM header pipe and Chong data tune, for his driving pleasure 😂, sounds real good too when reving the 2.4 out

[@RazeenMujarrab]

Love this series!!!

[@realvibephotography9706]

Ford Territory... EPIC!! What a drive. Got to look after the underneath but the barra and practicality are fantastic

[@task82]

LOVE this series 😍👏👏👏

[@wafive]

Can recall Clarkson testing an AE101 (95 Corolla 1.6 4afe not a GE) against a Golf GTi... The Humble Toyota handed the Golf its' arse on a plate.

[@trevordevis1971]

I worked as a Ford parts interpreter from Nov 88 to Sep 2010. I saw many highs and lows of Ford in V8 Supercars, and how closely the sales lows matched the race win lows. What I saw was that during the AU era (the car we all loved to hate because it was so ugly), Ford was not allowed to win. Ford had a superior chassis that nobody wanted in retail land and Holden outsold them...dunno - 5 Commodores to 1 Falcon? In race land, when a Ford won, the Holden teams screamed "parity", and we then saw Holdens racing that had swapped their McPherson strut front suspension for a double wishbone SLALS setup, like the Ford, and their panhard rod rear suspension for a watts linkage, like the Ford (this was before the control chassis silhouette racing we have now)...not to mention the race-only aero tweaks the Ford teams had to give away. Then BA came along, and in retail land people wanted a Falcon instead of a Commodore. Ford started to win again (remember how dominant Stone Brothers Racing were?) and the Holden teams squealed. But, instead of once again introducing a bunch of 'necessary parity' changes, V8 Supercars just said "shut up Holden teams, the Ford is a better car and you'll just have to deal with it". That was when I realised that touring car racing in Australia was conducted as a business and, as such, had no interest in the merits of the road car. It was simply about bums on seats at the race track. I have not bothered watching racing since, because it's irrelevant to informing us about which is the better handling car. Back in the day, I had a reasonably quick '74 VJ Charger 770 - Hemi 265 bored out .090 to 273, 4 speed manual, 28/68 cam, triple 1.75 SU carbs (no, not triple 45 DCOE Webers), 3.23 diff, 1300kg...good for low 15's. My wife had a MK1 Escort with a Cortina 1.6 in it - good handling car, but slow. I now drive a 2022 Kia Cerato GT - 1.6 turbo, direct injection, 7 speed DCT, weighs over 1300kg...and is at least as fast as the Charger was. I love modern technology! I'd love to see motor racing go back to it's roots - sell 2000 cars in the last year, you can race it. None of the homologation special crap that killed Group A racing (in my view). . . . Jeez - I'm getting old and starting to ramble and tell stories! Too bad, you younguns will just have to grit yer teeth and bear it!

[@MELso76]

2001 COTY finalists were the the BMW 3 Series Compact (yikes!), Toyota Prius and Mercedes-Benz C-class. Given what the Prius foreshadowed, it should've won. As for Barinas, I was driving the SB at the time - what a total POS!

[@timoleary8751]

C class at the time also proved over time to be every bit as shite as the S class a few years before.

[@MELso76]

@@timoleary8751 Yup - the dumbing down of Mercs started after the W140 S Class. The W202 C Class wasn't too badly affected, but by the time the W203 C Class rolled around the rot had well and truly set in.

[@DyslexicWorkersUntie]

Next video , can you please list the other who the winner was up against. just so we can see the injustice.

[@rosspane4542]

MX5 & Accord Euro definitely the best two cars on there , Accord Euro ha perfect reliability & good too drive , MX5 fun sports car & reliable , Aussie Falcon & Commodore good too , they have there issues but cheap to repair 👍

[@markrobinson1291]

I love my NC1 MX5 6 speed manual soft top, whilst it is a bit "heavier", there is more room inside than my old NB, and, alot more creature comforts for a sporty little daily that eats up the Hwy and twisties In saying that they do need some decent suspension and sway bars to remove their "boaty" characteristics they have from stock, and a header and ECUTek RACEROM tune really wakes up the little 2.0, still not a fast car, but super fun nonetheless wherever your heading

[@turbotiger82]

I totally agree with you about that Sandy Thom song from 06 Adam. I absolutely hate that song as well it is the Holden Captiva of music.

[@creditelectric]

7:03 Thats another song from Guy that I too had forgotten about.

[@StuFletch68]

Love you guys to bring up an 80’s version i’ll do this, then you would have to touch on the Holden Camira 😂

[@lethal924]

I understand why the golf 6 would win here in Europe. Everyone around here is obsessed with VAG stuff. There were more engines available here, half of them shit, half of them pretty meh. Maybe one good one. But it stood on the fame of the predecessor(s). It is just a facelift of the golf 5 with cost cuttings everywhere, but it was much nicer looking. It was the first to take over the shirocco design language (later even the vans had that front look) which was super cool at the time. Spare parts abundant and super cheap, unlike anything Japanese, which is i think the opposite in Australia. Wasnt Wheels magazine run by an European back then? :-D

[@samyeomans6710]

Mate, I’ve got a 2007 territory. 300,000kms. Beautiful car, comfortable, powerful etc. other than the ZF gearbox seemingly on its way out. It’s such a great car to drive. Only real trouble, I’ve just rebuild the entire front end suspension because it was clunky as a bag of bolts. Exhaust rattles, rear is still clunky since the diff bushes are in shocking condition. But for a 300,000km car it’s holding up well.

[@timduncan1406]

theyre such a great car I love mine sitting at 187k kms

[@christopherryan7780]

Pretty standard stuff though on those cars. Give me bushes any day over Euro electrical gremlins

[@samyeomans6710]

@@timduncan1406 hey mate. Just to give you some extra confidence in your car. Mines great. Hasn’t been treated particularly well to be honest. 301,000kms it’s sitting at. It’s the 6 speed. Transmission has some issues now. Should last another 40,000kms. My dad had a 4 speed. The 4 speed is much better for reliability, 330,000kms without a single issue. The suspension has only gotten bad in mine to the point that something needed to be done at 300,000kms. Other than that, the starter motors suck.

[@SavedbyHim]

ok Mate, good on ya MATE

[@photografiq_presents]

Seriously, the integrity it took to leave the word "Avartar" in is next level. Avartar . 😂😂

[@turgs1]

I love her you brought in the movies and songs well done guys

[@Madero775]

I think it’s a little unfair to dismiss the mk6 golf like that. They were absolutely a segment defining car at the time, and broke the mould for what a small hatchback could be in terms of refinement, handling, ride, power etc. Granted, they had their mechanical issues, but that aside, a terrific little car.

[@djgoldthing7166]

The 350z, like the one I'm distracted by in the back of your shot, was awarded car of the year in 2004 by Top Gear magazine in the UK. Even though, Clarkson didn't like it very much. Great car.

[@chrisparr7476]

I actually think the bug eye Impreza is a worthy coty. As it was a big step up in quality, materials and a lot more solid than the gc8. There are also a lot of bug eye Imprezas still on the rd. The 2.0 engines had no head gasket issues. Either did the wrx if not modified.

[@zeroyon4562]

Yeah. I think they were an improvement over the GC8. I noticed the chassis feeling a lot more sturdy compared to the GC8 (I drove my v5 type r sti back to back with a v7 type ra spec c). The 6 speed box and avcs were big improvements too.

[@BigBearBjorna]

Can you do a video on the golf mk5? Im interested in buying a Golf with the 1.6 bse engine. Or maybe you could make a video on the mk4?

[@madrx2]

I'm not sure if it was deliberate or not but at 8:21 You just said some lyrics to a song by the artist Scribe called "not many" Which was released the same year as the RX8.🤣

[@richarm66]

'you don't wan't that.... ' I figured Jim thought he was quoting Eminem :)

[@vandur2322]

How on earth did they get through this era without putting In a Camry

[@vfredsim]

The XC Barina was better than what came after. That's the more thing. The name was sullied. This was alright at the time and pretty fun to throw about. They didn't last twenty years though

[@bradleywilkinson8882]

Definition of movies,either an instant day dream or instant nightmare.

[@youzernejm]

I haven't seen the Grinch, because the first half was like someone opening my skull and scratching my brain with a wood file. Couldn't take the torture. If you haven't seen it, I'd strongly advise against it.

[@barron204]

I get the impression one of the easiest things to do it life in the 00s was to become a journalist for Wheels magazine. Or if not this, then there must have been that one person in the team that no one liked but to make them happy they all reluctantly agreed with them.

[@sumosprojects]

VE Commodore 👌👍, sold a lot here & overall a pretty good care especially the wagon 🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺Oi Oi Oi

[@simcard027]

OH. MY. GOODNESS i went and watched the i wish i was a punk rocker video after watching this video it suuuuuuuuux i couldn't even finish it

[@mattdebyl8806]

Enjoying these, but guys: car of the year was only able to be won by a car RELEASED in that year. So you shit talk a Golf and wonder what it’s competitors were, but that’s not relevant to the competition. Only ‘competitors’ for COTY are cars released in the same year. So if the the then current Corolla was released alongside (say) the Accord Euro, that was its chance to be COTY and lost out. They weren’t testing for long term reliability (they did tend to get disqualified if they had issues during the fairly lengthy testing IIRC). They were rated on driving experience, quality (as in perceived quality by potential new car buyers), engineering, innovation etc. Winners were often controversial even at the time. W204 was very controversial for its premium positioning. CR-Z for being a ‘sports car’ that wasn’t actually fast (that will be in the next episode). They also weren’t testing if absolute flogs will buy them. So not a lot of point speculating what else was in a particular cars segment. The XC Barina was absolute leaps and bounds ahead of the tacky shit in that category, even if it’s an unreliable car. For a small car like that it was a bit of a revelation. RX8 was like nothing else. IF they had proven reliable they would still be a very desirable and unique proposition. Oh and last time you were talking about the N13, many of the N13s had SR20s, not just the SSS. The SSS was really just a trim spec more than anything. Even the last Gen of Pulsar the SSS was a trim spec, the ST-S was basically the thing. It was quite cool that they’ve done this as most manufacturers won’t, put the ‘sporty’ engine in the fairly standard cars. Imagine Subaru putting the BRZ engine in the bog standard Impreza, heck throw in RWD only. I’d buy that in a second. Nobody does lower spec cars with higher spec drive trains any more. It’s all just about pushing you up to buy more gimmicks. Sorry, that was a weird tangential rant.

[@richsan4923]

right pair of choose your adjective

[@normanstephen4291]

Lmao that reply about Jar Jar! Absolute gold I hate Jar Jar

[@YourGraveyard]

Thanks for clearing up the VE SS Ute. Thought it was Jim's ute.

[@pasilinnosto6712]

2000 VT missed the Car of the Year. Somehow became the largest selling car in Australia of all time. ReDriven Wheels Car of the Year series is a can’t wait to watch on KZbin

[@Low760]

Vt was coty 1997

[@phillipevans9414]

Geez, the naughties were pretty slim pickings for COTY, but at least there were 4 decent ones...the songs on the other hand...were pretty much all "chip bag disposable, crap", with the possible exception of Anthony Calea's "The Prayer", which was saved (just) by Anthony's stellar vocal performance. As a former semi pro muso and car nut, mainstream music has pretty much been universally crap for about 30 years, and cars have been similarly (although not quite as bad) ordinary for about the last 20 years. I really can't see myself ever buying a post 2010 car for personal use (although I may for strictly business use) - in retirement (about 10 years away), I will probably just have a small fleet of "classics" that I will use "on rotation". Your 2 "COTY - WATN" have been highly entertaining though. Cheers!