'Wheels Car of the Year'. Where are they now? (2010-2019)

[@waynewynnx7976]

12:00 I'm surprised that Adam didn't say "smoking is bad, cigarettes are disgusting 🤨😒" when he mentioned 'Chain Smoker'. 😂😂

[@hellothere4342]

This feels almost like seeing how your ex is doing in 2024. Good,bad and impartial. What a great idea for video though.

[@samartz]

hahhAa

[@kristoffer3000]

Impartial? Sure, unbiased however? Not even close.

[@stevelichtwark4259]

My ex would be fat as, women age like milk men like wine 😂

[@1MrBryn]

Can't agree more with the you don't need power to have fun comment. I just drove the new Suzuki Swift and despite having about as much power as a lawn mower, it was an absolute delight. And a friend of mine has an i3 and I can confirm they are still absolutely fantastic to drive.

[@mrgurulittle7000]

Lawnmower😂😂😂

[@mrgarrison3516]

I have owned a swift & a ride on.....swift = more fun, because it was manual

[@DarkStarZN]

I absolutely love my little CR-Z. They are super fun to drive and so far has been super reliable. I'd love to see ReDriven's take on the CR-Z, as I'm sure you'll be impressed by it. As I heard once: "It's more fun to drive a slow car fast, than a fast car slow."

[@andriiosmak4913]

I took one for a test drive a couple of years ago and I was amazing.

[@gdawwg1125]

"It's more fun to drive a slow car fast, than a fast car slow." it took me buying and regretting many fast cars to work this out. its 100% true

[@mattdebyl8806]

Absolute cracker of a car in manual.

[@jasonironside4546]

I bought one recently... its so much fun to drive, it makes me smile. Shame there are not that many around.

[@21petergriffin420]

7:50 My dad has a Mk7.5 Golf with the 110kw 1.4T. Such a great car to drive, it feels planted, and it’s much more comfortable than my Civic which is a given, but I didn’t expect the difference to be so big. The DSG shifts so quickly and is so smart, if you can get over the jerky throttle at low speed, it’s an awesome car to daily drive, especially with the upgraded infotainment system package and the amazing digital gauges, one of the only digital gauge clusters that I would prefer over analogue gauges.

[@rid1c]

Adam & Jim Mate please make a video on best manual cars in different price range. They are almost getting extinct these days, have to give them the respect they deserve.

[@partymeeple5633]

Yeah. For those people who know what a left foot is for...

[@lancecooper4646]

Manuals on Marketplace are an absolute bargain now🔥😈👍

[@Daniel-to4xu]

11:10 'because all the cars were shit' - I love Jim's attitude. He is the new Scott Turbowski

[@davidlemottee100]

Guys, i have loved this series - its been highly entertaining. And that's coming from a bloke who is in 60's who worked in the Auto industry from the 80's onwards.......... Keep up the great work.

[@task82]

Have absolutely LOVED this series and hope we get to see more podcast content, much more please. You guys have such a good energy together and it makes for such enjoyable viewing 👏👏👏

[@skaifeyhrt]

If you want to make your way over to Christchurch NZ, you are more than welcome to drive my manual 2011 CR-Z (not sure it would be worth the trip unless you're coming over for a holiday as well)

[@XLTripleTriple]

In terms of design, I LOVE the i3. I personally feel that it is perfectly captures what city-driving EV car design needs to be: quirky, unique, outside of the box designs.

[@stewraz101]

I dont comment on much here, but I totally loved this, the dynamic, the sarcasm, the banter and the honesty. bloody topop notch series of videos fellas, well done!

[@davidarter9670]

I really enjoyed this series. Thankyou. When you look back at all the Cars of the year over this period, for me the one that continually stands out is the MX5. What a terrific car!

[@TwistedDonners]

Was definitely a fun video to watch to finish off this mini series. 2 topics that you could do in a similar style are best and worst cars to debut by year and best and worst cars that were discontinued by year as I think that'd be a fun one for you to do. Great work as always guys, keep up the good work and look forward to next week's videos as per usual 👍

[@heronshorts]

the 86/BRZ aged like wine, these are still big in the car guy scene. NA amazing, would recommend as a first car.

[@NIPUNAPEIRISPR4NK]

100% Agreed. I used to talk so much trash at these until I drove one. Not the fastest car I've driven, but just a bag of laughs. I remember doing 45 kmph turns at a 100 on the Black spur in a bone stock 86, had us grinning the entire time.

[@kevinbarry71]

Before that, the Honda insight hybrid had a manual transmission.

[@daveamies5031]

Was going to say this too 👍

[@MrRicearonie]

Same with older Civic hybrids. Guess it’s just a Honda thing

[@mnkybndit]

This was a great series. Really enjoyed the format.

[@grantblom9013]

I had a CR-Z. I often think about how fun that car was to drive. The gearbox was amazing.

[@xkimopye]

I own 3 wheels car of the years. Mazda NA MX5, Toyota 86 GTS, Holden VE SSV. All are brilliant.

[@bluearmy7690]

Nice!

[@StephenConte-n1s]

Great series! In the spirit of anecdotal evidence being the best and most irrefutable form of evidence, I bought a VW Polo (different year to 2010 but same generation), and it has served me exceptionally well! Never had any major mechanical issues (a few cosmetic ones but let’s put that down to user error), and still a treat to drive ~10yrs later. Besides that, love your work, it’s great to have in the back pocket in case I need to upgrade or somethings happens to the Polo (🤞)

[@tonestar0183]

Love this series. Love your poker face talking about those movies too. You guys rock :)

[@murrieteacher]

The BRZ/86 is my nemesis at the Mt Cotton hillclimb. Driven well, these cars can give me a hurry-up and make me push harder. And they are standard and I have lots of good bits on my MGF/TF.

[@joebot2127]

I feel like VW's last a lot longer in Europe than they do in Australia. They don't seem to have quite as many problems in cooler climates. Aside from the usual water pump/ belt tensioner issues.

[@eponymous7910]

People have less mechanical sympathy in Aus. And treat VW's like Toyotas, you've really got to drop the oil every 10k kms on a turbocharged donk. And flush/change the coolant every 5-6 years

[@corriban]

The parts are also a lot cheaper in europe probably. At least here in Germany older VWs/Benz/BMWs seem to be good enough that there's barely any demand for more reliable cars. As a result Toyota and Honda don't even offer most of their models here. It's mostly their SUVs which I personally find ugly as sin.

[@johnnumbat9782]

Thanks Adam & Jim - although I love my automatic Hilux and many previous auto Subarus the most fun I’ve had was driving my manual 1200 Datsun Coupe in 1977 and later with a 1990 Subaru Liberty turbo wagon - that car was an absolute beast, drove like it was on rails around bends and a gorgeous growl even with standard exhaust - it didn’t attract flashing blue lights like my ‘98 GC8 (sold for deposit to buy a house) and was absolutely fun to drive even for a granny driver like me - very reliable and quite economical for a turbo - sold last year for $35k due to excellent condition and low kms.

[@partymeeple5633]

I don't know any of the songs you've mentioned. So you're doing me a great service. ~smiles~

[@Aearonjer]

My 86 had the valve springs go on May 1st. Saving for another engine. So currently in the garage...

[@bcm70]

I always order endgame when I get Japanese. It's delicious, although it can sometimes be a bit oily.

[@turn6garage640]

Love these videos. I would love to see a 1980s where are they now and what were they like Car of The Year video. There are a few in that list that would have interesting stories.

[@Sam-zu8pc]

Like the Holden camira 😂

[@Lazy_Tim]

Hanging shit on the MCU and then picking out Black Panther is gold. Well done.

[@grlmgor]

Also liking the The last jedi.

[@DiscoFang]

Honda Fit Hybrid is offered with 6spd manual trans in Japan market. Even an RS version with option of full leather seats.

[@pastourmas97]

Hey Jim and Adam, would you be able at any point to maybe make an episode about the e39 and e46 models? It would be great to hear from you some facts. Cheers.

[@trav13k]

Excellent series. Very much enjoy the info about the cars, but the other bits about music and movies really puts it into context. More of this please :)

[@ReDriven]

Thanks so much!

[@ma77mc]

My mum bought an XC40 petrol, it’s a lovely car to drive, very comfortable. She chose it because, as a petite person, it was one of the few cars that she was able to get comfortable in, the driving position allows her to see around the car better than almost anything else she saw.

[@Sam-zu8pc]

Whenever I think of wheels car of the year award I consider the fact that the Holden Camira won it in 1982 😂 Keep up the fantastic work guys - on about 5 occasions now I’ve given people advice about a particular car and follow up with sending them a link to one of your videos which inevitably back up my opinion (I started my apprenticeship as a mechanic way back in 1989, so it’s not just guesswork on my part) and I very rarely disagree with your assessments of vehicles in the real world…

[@ReDriven]

Thanks so so much mate!

[@pablojones5613]

Great series guys! Any chance of doing a "prequel" back into the 80's?

[@rodfjon]

I've had 3 MX5s (NA, NB, NC) and loved them all, (my fave was the Mkii NB) and I had a MkVii Golf and a 7.5 Gti Original. Not sure why they hang crap on the MkVii Golf. Its was well balanced, punchy enough and practical. Great interior and build quality. Obviously the Gti was worlds better. Oh well.

[@glennhinkley]

Loved it lads, more of this. Great stuff and well put together. Maybe a video of best first car and most reliable high-powered car. 👌 (apologies if these have already been done, new to the channel).

[@Nicknamed13]

Drove a CRZ a long time ago and it was surprisingly fun to drive. Not much slower than the CRX either. The i3 aged really well and it is a fantastic city car. Not a hot hatch or sports car at all but a fun to drive in a very weird way. Very easy to live with on a day to day basis where you just want to get in it and go do your business.

[@1maico1]

I dug out a 2009 copy of the British magazine What Car. Their 2009 super mini tested the cars using the normal sort of criteria. The Polo 1.4SE finished first. The Mazda 2 10th and last marked down for poor ride quality and refinement. The Yaris was 9th. These were all new cars so reliability wasn't scored.

[@mvnorsel6354]

Wheels never did give a guarantee on reliability or sales when making the award.

[@zod9765]

86/BRZ, the torque dip is fixed relatively easily with headers and a tune. I have this on my BRZ, torque dip is essentially gone and the power delivery is more linear.

[@lschang]

Love the i3 (other than the range), used it for commuting in the Bay Area and zoomed through the HOV lane. The only non-boring and non-gratuitous grill BMW car design other than the i8. Also really like the Volvo XC60 - solid as a rock, used it to drive 4 times coast to coast in the US and never failed through the 4 seasons. The safety systems and usability are unparallelled - saved a few close calls.

[@deancleavesmith]

Thanks guys, love the mini series and flashbacks to cars and music.

[@neontownescape]

This was around when Wheels COTY started going downhill. A lot of the judging criteria was dropped, and cars that sold in a handful of numbers were nominated/won.

[@neontownescape]

This was around when Wheels COTY started going downhill. A lot of the judging criteria was dropped, and cars that sold in a handful of numbers were nominated/won when in previous years they had no chance. Then they had variants of the VF Commodore nominated three years after the VF was released.

[@kevinsummersford4112]

The MX-5 I was in the car yards detailing at the time and got to drive one not overly powerful but definitely fun it's the simplicity of power to weight ratio where I think mazda has hit the nail on the head nicely with this car if I could I'd drive one as a daily for fun 😁

[@alexanderswagin9618]

Of course anyone who knows Honda history first generation Honda Insight was the first hybrid with a manual transmission and came out ahead of Toyota Prius in 2000. Yes Adam a brilliant steer and makes a lot of sense now. I bought an another one because of the enjoyment factor. Agree with you on the model year nonsense. The CRZ also has more room than the MX5 being based on the Honda Jazz. My CRZ is a 2014, lithium battery update, last year of importation and still available for your video channel. Cheers

[@lanzar111]

Great video once again guys🎉

[@ozbassman11]

Thanks guys, really enjoyed this series.

[@johnphaceas7434]

Apart from repeating my plea - please do a COTYs of the '80s - the one thing that stands out to me is that I don't recall virtually any of the songs of the year mentioned (though I'll admit to being a GenXer and indie/alt music w..ker)

[@philipseiler224]

Another excellent vid! Would love to see the Jeep two door wangler review!

[@fruze8478]

The avingers...? 🤔

[@claudiadavies5110]

Loved this again, some interesting and nice cars in the earlier 2010s and then nothing exciting 😊

[@pedroelcato]

Loooove the series gents!!! Brilliantly executed!!!

[@enzSa]

Can do a top 5 wagons video or something along those lines

[@1darryloflife]

The more conversations you guys have the better. How about a segment on cheeky cars, I will leave that to your imagination. Rare cars in Aus. Muscle cars and how they stack up against todays average cars.

[@skatworld.co.7737]

Can you review the Honda accord euro Cu2? Thanks for the awesome content!!

[@christopherjohnston6343]

Honda Fit RS hybrid had the CRZ 6speed drivetrain. It was lighter too making it faster. CRZ handles better overall though (like refinement and wheel tyre choice). Fit feels a bit more enthusiastic and lighthearted though Sadly the CRZ runs out of juice really quickly in enthusiast driving - and when it does it becomes wuite slow

[@gavinrewell9703]

Fun to watch. Kinda sad that there are so few “deserving” cars. I personally never liked Wheels magazine and read “Motor” all through my teen years.

[@MrAarongilbey]

If I lived in your part of the world I'd happily part with my Honda CRZ GT for the day to re-drive! It's not super economical nor is it fast, it's ablend of both which it does well. It's ultra reliable, distinctive angular styling only Japan can turn out and handles well. Good size boot which is a very useable area when you drop the token rear seat. I've owned mine 7 years, only outlays have been the usual consumables - set of brake pads and discs and two tyres. Also two rear calipers which are known issue with the CRZ, they tend to seize as regen braking on the fronts take most of the load.

[@AlanSari2714]

Brilliant episode thank you

[@khwezi1986]

I would like you guys to redo the whole car of the year series but this feature only the cars that you think deserved the title taking into consideration what you know about the cars now, and what was exciting about them when they were new

[@lucasaviro]

Wouldn't mind runners up edition... Or a quick review video, like you name cars (you haven't done) and give them a rating in reliability, performance and daily drive out of 10

[@gldstone]

the 1999- (MY 2000????) -2005 Honda Insight Gen1 was available with a manual transmission and was the first hybrid to be sold outside of Japan (Prius beat it to market in Japan). The tech in the CR-Z drivetrain is basically the same, as far as I understand. The 1st gen Insight is also fun to drive and looks amazing, and hardly anyone bought them.

[@tompetery8779]

Maybe do a series of best and worst of a breed of cars. For example best Commodore: Falcon/Magna Nissan Z to worst over the years.

[@suad01]

1st gen Insight was offered as a manual hybrid too

[@ShubhoBose]

1st gen Honda Insight also was a hybrid with a manual transmission.

[@Adam-7_7_7]

Love the wrap up !.

[@troysanchez776]

I owned the 1986 and 1988 Motor Trend car of the year, the first Ford Taurus and Pontiac Grand Prix. Having rented an Opel Omega and owned an AU Falcon for 2 years, the American cars were good for the price when new. Where the US cars fail is progress relative to development budget. The Pontiac and it's w body platform had a $6 billion development budget for 2 body styles. Ford got more for their 3 billion yielding the Taurus, Sable sedan and wagon plus LWB FWD Lincoln Continental. The Omega and AU are remarkable achievements in comparison.

[@realvibephotography9706]

I'd like to see a diesel video. Expose on the diesel generation with dpf & egr problems and why. I often see the Territory 2.7 given a hard time but common issues seem to be related to lack of regular long hot running to burn off soot. Did we get too many diesel's put in family SUV's and cars or even tradies who don't do enough long hot km ... then given a hard time because they weren't used for what the diesel engine was designed for. Like your take on the diesel engine world ... the pros and cons... how best to use them etc.

[@KentHutchins]

+1 from me. I'd love to see Adam and Jim feature this. With lots of 2nd hand diesel SUVs & twin cabs for sale now. What's in store for the 2nd hand owners wanting a family runner?

[@orbij0r]

I have an idea for a conversation video - you guys could discuss cars you really like but probably shouldn't 🙂

[@41DegreesSouth]

+1

[@Martin2153]

Any news on what's happened to the Wheels COTY? It's the end of June and there's been no mention of it in the magazine or online for 2024. Have Wheels dropped it due to the cost of organising thr event, lack of interest or not enough payola offered? The Wheels COTY seems to have gone the way of the car show.

[@rossappleton9758]

Keep it up fellas. Never enough.. 🤙🍻

[@Dino_Dad.]

2010- 2019 car of the years Toyota Camry. Next Subject..

[@SavedbyHim]

You might die of boredom though. Reliability is not the only judging criteria

[@Martinidog]

Car of the year for people who don’t give a shit about cars

[@SamS-gn4vl]

Great video!

[@markjones7045]

Don't forget, with Wheels magazine it was a car released in that year not whatever car was on sale that year. Hence cars with better competition may have won of the better cars were released in a previous year

[@CarsFromOz]

These are brilliant! Please go even further back in time and do one for the 1980s! 1980 - Mazda 323 1981 - Mercedes S Class 1982 - Holden Camira JB 1983 - Ford Telstar / Mazda 626 1984 - Mitsubishi Nimbus 1985 - Mitsubishi TM Magna 1986 - Award withheld 1987 - Honda Prelude 4WS 1988 - Holden Commodore VN 1989 - Mazda NA MX5 1990 - Lexus LS400 Thanks in advance! @carsfromoz

[@grant703]

Enjoying this series, want to drive MX5 badly, but Black Panther was garbage.

[@klinkske]

I wonder if i ll ever have a chance to drive a nc and nd miata. I own a NA since forever… that and the real mini ( not the beemer) are on my dreamcar list

[@fruitpunch5260]

MK7 Golf is a great car, much better all-round package than anything brand-new of the time.

[@travelbyron]

Hi, I was a judge for every COTY this video covers. Jim Hull insinuating during the Volvo XC40 chapter that we as judges were paid by a manufacturer or coerced to pick a certain winner is utterly incorrect - and wrong. Many of us judges are contractors hired because of our knowledge and experience, so this is extremely disappointing to hear. Hull from 18:52 to 19:17: "Here's the thing. In 2019, we were well and truly in the era where there were many accusations about how cars were winning Car of the Year. We are well and truly in that cash for comment... I"m not making any accusations and this is somewhat personal opinion... not really. But there's a lot of money flying around. Did it win because of that? Did it win because it was good? I"m just posing the question. I'm not making accusations." This to me - and perhaps to some of the surviving judges on the 2019 COTY panel - sounds a lot like defamation. We rely on our reputation for employment and Hull's comments clearly question our ethics in this COTY instance.

[@ReDriven]

Thanks for the input Byron. It’s worth us noting that the intention of this video isn’t to undermine the COTY award, the process or those involved in the award. The speculative aspect of the comments, probably were not necessary in the context of what we were going for with the premise of the content, and if they caused any offence, we apologise.

[@divad23]

The retrospective view of the VW cars, pretty much sums up the company’s past 15 years - built to throw away

[@steveorr]

The CR-Z in manual is an amazingly fun car to drive, and I’d still buy one if I could get my hands on a good one. The biggest problem was it was too expensive at the time, it barely sold, and when it did they sold far more cvt autos… booooo… and the other problem now is the batteries and the IME components are starting to fail with age… solution, rip it all out and whack in a k20 haha It was way to ahead of its time, a manual hybrid sports car now would sell really well. Which I hope is what they decide to do with the new incoming Prelude

[@paulwang5213]

what a crime that "See you again" by Wiz Khalifa was not the song of the year for 2015

[@tmmtmm]

as far as generic artists go, Wiz Khalifa is up there as pretty damn generic.

[@SebastianLevy]

Have you done a video on the Kia EV9?

[@MrLurchsThings]

I still say the GT86 should have worn the Celica badge. I know the GT86 nameplate is meant to relate back to the AE86, but seriously - go put one next to a ‘76 Celica and tell me they’re not a better match. Perhaps they didn’t want the new car related to a 2-door Camry like many later Celica models were.

[@KuroRyuu86]

nah. Celica's were 4WD. You cannot tarnish that name for being in a FR layout. Hence why the GR Yaris/Corolla have the GT-4 nameplate.

[@damilolaakanni]

​@KuroRyuu86 majority of Celicas were front wheel drive though. In fact quite a lot of Celicas were.

[@damilolaakanni]

Toyota sold a two door Camry from ~1993-1996 before discontinuing it. In North America, they technically brought it back in 1999 as the Camry Solara which became just the Solara in 2001. That lasted until 2008 across two generations.

[@MrLurchsThings]

@@KuroRyuu86 Most Celicas were either RWD (early ones) or FWD (later ones). Only the top of the line WRC variants had 4WD. Whilst the firs two generations (commonly called the '73 and '76 Celicas) were just like the GT86. Small, light, RWD and just enough power to have some fun.

[@kazsiddique1]

Should do the same but for UKs top gear car of the year :)

[@danieljones7843]

5:25 I would pick the Toyota hands down if I was forced to buy one. Subaru made you pay more for the brz than Toyota charged you for the 86. Yes the suby is rarer (for obvious reasons) and theoretically worth more as a result but let’s be honest. It’s the exact same car, they are just spitefully charging you extra for the badge.

[@andyh5666]

How the wheel turns - the opposite is true for the current/updated model. Toyota screwed the pooch and made the manual and auto the same price, unlike BRZ, and didn't include a spare (full size alloy, mind you, in the BRZ).

[@BigCarKilla]

CX9 - you can thank Ford engineering for the patchy reliability. Coil packs, suspension (bushes etc), horrible for chewing through them. I did find the V6 loved running on premium. Noticeable improvement in power output.

[@zaccy12341]

Are you talking about the ford engined 3.7 v6 previous gen cx9 or the current 100% Mazda one? As surely it’s the same awd system as the cx5 and also same 2.5 turbo that is in later high end cx5 and 6s?

[@Nhashim]

I think they were confused by it. The current gen 2016 - 2023 is quite reliable I won one, I haven’t faced any issues with it nor did i find anything online concerning major issues.

[@IdotSingh]

Would be great if you guys did this series again but this time what you think the best cars for each year in hindsight is. These choices by wheels are not it

[@xSRGman]

Would you guys be able to review a Mitsubishi Magna? One of the all time classic sedans, and you still see them around, although I assume most of them have been beat to shit with 400,000 KM's by this point.

[@liberty0758]

There's one for sale on Marketplace here in Melbourne, in a very good condition with only 100ks on the clock.

[@nickkenny9322]

Would be good to see you guys include your own opinions of what should have been the car of the year too. You could take the view at the time it was released, or with the benefit of hindsight.

[@xanderoerlemans5933]

How about a review of the volvo v40 the hatchback one not the old one 😁😁😁

[@bigdude101ohyeah]

The 70s and 80s really showed the true colours of Wheels COTY, especially the years that they withheld the awards. It's hypocritical that they'd withhold the award because the XA and XD Falcons, and the R31 Shard Bus weren't good enough, but then give it to the Leyland P76 and Camira (in the case of the P76, the very year after not awarding it to the XA).

[@kevinbarry71]

The first generation Toyota Prius came with a manual transmission. Not many people remember it

[@jasonfields2793]

Probably because after looking at it you did everything to remove that memory from your brain

[@kristoffer3000]

@@jasonfields2793 You didn't have to, it removed itself as there was nothing to really remember about it apart from being an underpowered hybrid

[@kf6796]

You mean insight

[@dsamusic5043]

Can't believe you brought up Max Martin! One of THE BIGGEST songwriters of our time. Responsible for the success of Pink, Taylor Swift, The Veronicas, Backstreet Boys, NSYNC and Britney Spears among others. Prime example of one of the wealthiest songwriters nobody knows about

[@markharrison6120]

Had a territory reassured vy the car of the year accolade, total junk and appalling dealers. Used "car of the year" award to see what to avoid from there on... has served me well...

[@AndreiGrozea]

the interior styling of the CR-Z was so nice tho

[@lukebrinsmead]

Idea for reviews: check engine power loss on a dynamometer in reviews.