A small electric SUV selling for $72,000 has won a coveted car of the year prize by beating the highly anticipated new Toyota LandCruiser and Volkswagen Golf.
The Hyundai IONIQ 5 was named Carsales Car of the Year for 2021 - only the second electric vehicle to win the motoring industry accolade - even though just 16 were sold in October.
The niche $71,900 small Korean SUV beat a field of almost 100 contenders of new or upgraded vehicles that are going on sale by the end of this year as a shortage of semiconductors hampers global car production.
The Hyundai IONIQ 5 has been awarded the Carsales Car of the Year prize for 2021 making it only the second electric vehicle to win the motoring industry accolade
The IONIQ 5, with a range of up to 451km, triumphed over a shortlist that included the long-awaited new Toyota LandCruiser, Volkswagen Golf and the electric Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo, selling for $279,000.
Carsales editor-in-chief Mike Sinclair said the Hyundai IONIQ 5 offered the best electric vehicle technology for the price, with the manufacturer claiming it can be charged from 10 per cent to 80 per cent in 18 minutes.
'For close to mass-market money, the IONIQ 5 brings the industry's most up-to-date EV platform this side of a Porsche Taycan, new 800V charging technology and European-car levels of driver and passenger engagement, making it our top choice for early EV adopters and digital natives alike,' he said.
The IONIQ 5 is the first electric vehicle to win the Carsales prize since the Tesla Model S was named Car of the Year in 2015, and was one of three fully electric cars on the Carsales 2021 shortlist of 12 models.
The electric Polestar 2, an offshoot of Volvo, was highly commended, along with the Kia Sorento, the Carsales Car of the Year for 2020.
The shortlist also included the new Land Rover Defender
