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Want an EV that delivers plushness and performance but sits under the Luxury Car Tax threshold? These are the finalists for the Drive Car of the Year Best Electric Vehicle under $90K category.
Drive Car of the Year 2026
The annual Drive Car of the Year awards program continues to be the Australian new car buyer’s most-trusted advisor.
At Drive, we've never been busier in our mission to evaluate all new cars that arrive in our market. We test over 200 cars annually through reviews, comparing each against its innate promise to distinguish the best from the rest. At our annual Drive Car of the Year awards, we categorise the 400-plus new passenger cars, SUVs, 4WDs, and utes into 17 price-banded categories, focusing on the end-consumer. Then we analyse the strengths and weaknesses of every car to find category winners, and ultimately, an overall champion.
Drive Car of the Year 2026 – Best Electric Vehicle Under $90K
Last year’s winner of the Best Luxury Car under $100K is back, albeit with a tighter price limit and a focus on its electrification.
The Polestar 4 Long Range Single Motor with Plus Pack is priced from $86,500 before options and on-road costs and features a 100kWh lithium-ion battery pack with a claimed 620km range.
The single-motor Polestar 4 delivers 200kW/343Nm output via the rear wheels and is good for a claimed 0-100km/h sprint time of 7.1 seconds.
Cool numbers, sure, but the Polestar 4’s real hook is in its presentation, as it is simply stunning to look at.
The four-door coupe-sedan, with no rear window, screams modern style, and pairs the exterior with a clever and roomy interior that can use all manner of upcycled or unique premium fabrics in its specification.
There’s no vehicle-to-load or vehicle-to-home capability from the Polestar, though, and DC charging is capped at 200kW.
You could be forgiven for thinking the $88,880 (before options and on-road costs) Volvo ES90 sedan and the Polestar 4 are related… because they are.
Both these sleek sedans share the same Geely-developed platform, although the Volvo ES90 Plus single-motor makes 245kW/480Nm from its 92kWh battery pack, and can achieve a claimed 554km range in WLTP testing.
While the design, from the ‘Hammer of Thor’ LED headlamps and stacked LED tail-lights, feels classy and modern, it’s the LiDAR hump on the leading edge of the windscreen that is the ES90’s most unusual and talked-about feature.
The LiDAR, in place to provide the highest-quality data for the car’s ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System) functions, does look like a booking light from a London taxi (a vehicle now designed and developed by Volvo’s parent, Geely Automotive).
Inside, Volvo’s comfortable seats and impressive build quality maintain the Swedish brand’s key offerings, but the integration of some curious technology choices, like the inclusion of two window switches for a four-window car, can sometimes dampen the experience.
The Volvo offers up to 300kW DC charging but has no vehicle-to-X functionality.
The $72,900 Zeekr 7X Performance AWD is one of the newest cars in the entire Drive Car of the Year field, and has, in many ways, come out of nowhere as a surprise contender for this category.
Zeekr has thrown the kitchen sink at the 7X Performance, with the twin motors providing 475kW/710Nm outputs, and the 100kWh battery a claimed 543km range.
There are powered doors, integrated power rear sunblinds, and, unlike the other two Geely-family cars, the ability to deliver 3.3kW V2L (Vehicle-to-Load) output. You get air suspension, nappa leather, and a stack of rear passenger room.
All this tech can feel a tad much, though, and as impressive as the numbers and features are, do they make the 7X a better car overall?
Read more about the Zeekr 7X here.
The Drive Car of the Year Best Electric Vehicle Under $90K winner will be announced in February 2026.
What are the judges looking for in the Best Electric Vehicle Under $90K category?
This category looks at the X-Factor in electric vehicles that present a little 'more' for buyers. This includes styling, execution and feature set, with judges looking not only at what is incorporated, but how it is incorporated into the sense of the car.
Fit and finish are crucial, but so is the luxurious nature of an EV at this price point. Silence and smoothness here are key.
Judges will assess charging times and energy management, too, with consideration placed on extra functions and more future-proof technology underpinning these quality electric finalists.
Which cars are eligible for this category?
Drive’s rules require that, for a car to be eligible, it must:
The updated BMW i4 and Kia EV6 were both announced but not available in time for testing, and the Tesla Model Y Performance was deemed by judges not to be the best implementation of the brand's popular SUV, hence the inclusion of a Model Y Rear-Wheel Drive in other categories.
Cars like the BMW iX2 and iX1 in their xDrive 30 all-wheel-drive grades were again not deemed to be the best representation of the model in this company, with buyers recommended to shop lower in the range for a more well-rounded value offering.
Newcomers, the MG IM5 and IM6 presented some impressive performance and value figures, but judges felt they were outclassed by the finalists in this segment in terms of premium implementation.
Eligible to compete are models with an RRP of less than $90,000 before on-road costs – even if the drive-away price pushes above this mark – and as with any existing DCOTY category, cars must be all-new or significantly updated since they last contested for the award win.
Some of the contenders in this category offer model variants that are priced above $90,000 before on-road costs. Only trim grades that fall below the price cap will be eligible.
The winner of the Drive Car of the Year 2026 – Best Electric Vehicle Under $90K will be announced in February 2026.
An overall Drive Car of the Year award will be awarded in February 2026.
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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.
