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Here is every new or updated model eligible for the Drive Car of the Year 2025 – Best Luxury Car Under $100K category.
Drive Car of the Year 2025
Now in its 20th year, the annual Drive Car of the Year awards program continues to be the Australian new car buyer’s most-trusted advisor.
At Drive, we test drive more than 200 new cars every year, evaluating each against its innate promise to sort the best from the rest. We divide the 400-plus new passenger cars, SUVs, 4WDs and utes into 19 price-banded categories focused on the end-user. Then we analyse the strengths and weaknesses of every car to find the cream of the automotive crop.
Drive Car of the Year 2025 is a go!
Drive Car of the Year 2025 – Best Luxury Car Under $100K
The Best Luxury Car under $100K category is one where many of the judging criteria require the cars to be 'just so'. This is where judges (and buyers) are looking for vehicles that consider a premium approach to technology and include features that extend beyond the norm to enhance your motoring life.
Rather than looking at simply what is included with a car, this category assesses how things have been included. Judges look at everything from the material selection, comfort and quietude of the cabin, and even whether the keyfob feels up to the task.
Judges will ask, has the technology been integrated in a way that feels connected to the car, is the audio system partnered with a specialist in the game, and just how premium is the purchase and ownership journey?
The winner of this category in 2024 and 2023, the W206 Mercedes-Benz C-Class has set a strong stake in the ground for what level of 'luxury' buyers can expect from this price band. It looks like a baby S-Class, wants for no gizmo or gadget, and offers a perky and efficient driving experience, but can the Mercedes sedan hold on to the title for another year or is the door open for a new contender to make its mark?
To see the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord throw their respective hats in the 'luxury car' ring is a testament to just how much car you get for your money these days.
The range-topping Camry SL hybrid offers heated and ventilated seats, a panoramic glass roof, large alloy wheels, and a slickly appointed interior for just under $54,000 plus on-road costs whereas the Honda (for about $65K drive-away) brings the latest Google-backed infotainment technology, plenty of space and, like the Toyota, a quiet and efficient hybrid drivetrain.
Even the facelifted Skoda Octavia delivers a revitalised sense of Eastern European chic in either a sedan or wagon.
There's a new BMW 1 Series in play and some fresh electric contention from new-specification models of the BMW i4 and the Tesla Model 3, each providing a significant point of differentiation from their previously tested (and now excluded) brethren.
To round things out, the new Polestar 4 presents a whole new look at what luxury can look like with up to 400kW of zero-rear-window Scandi-style.
Will any of these offer enough tangible and intangible excess to topple the Mercedes? Stay tuned to find out.
Which cars are eligible for this category?
Drive’s rules require that, for a car to be eligible, it must:
| Contenders | Not here in time |
| – Cars that are all-new or significantly updated since they last contested Drive Car of the Year. – New categories are open to all cars that fit category requirements. – Last year’s winner is an automatic inclusion. | – These cars meet category requirements, but are not due to arrive in time for Drive Car of the Year 2025 judging. |
| BMW 1 Series BMW i4 eDrive 35 Honda Accord Mercedes-Benz C-Class (defending) Polestar 4 Skoda Octavia Tesla Model 3 Performance Toyota Camry | Audi A5 (due to arrive early 2025) |
The winner of the 2025 Drive Car of the Year – Best Luxury Car Under $100K will be announced in February 2025.
Before then, we will announce the finalists, all of which deliver a "premium approach to technology and features that enhance motoring life".
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With over 20 years of experience in digital publishing, James Ward has worked within the automotive landscape since 2007 and brings experience from the publishing, manufacturer and lifestyle side of the industry together to spearhead Drive's multi-media content direction.
