Best Value Car Awards 2026

How do you measure great value when buying a new car? For most of us, it’s about scoring a razor-sharp purchase price – but there are a host of additional (and often-overlooked) ongoing costs that have a significant impact on the true cost of ownership.

To help consumers make more informed decisions, Open Road’s inaugural Best Value Car Awards has analysed over 120 vehicles across the segments Australians shop most heavily, including small cars, SUVs, dual-cab utes, hybrids and electric vehicles.

Each contender was assessed using the same real-world ownership formula to create a comparable five-year total ownership figure.

Our calculations went well beyond purchase price.

We factored in major ownership costs such as depreciation, insurance premiums, fuel or electricity costs, servicing and maintenance, registration and even a set of replacement tyres. Because depreciation is often the single biggest hidden expense in car ownership, resale value after five years played a major role in the final rankings.

For petrol and diesel vehicles, fuel costs were calculated using combined-cycle consumption figures against national average fuel pricing. For electric vehicles, we used a blended charging model – home charging, public fast charging and solar charging – to better reflect how Australians actually live with EVs.

Behind the rankings sit almost 1000 ownership cost calculations – or over 4000 individual mathematical calculations. The result is a transparent, apples-to-apples comparison of what different cars genuinely cost to own and run in Australia today. And as our data shows, choosing the wrong vehicle in your preferred segment could end up costing you thousands of dollars over the life of ownership.

The Fine Print

The Cars

Given the focus on value, the most affordable entry level grades were selected for consistency. Every article for each category lists the top three performers and contains overall results covering over 120 models.

My NRMA Rewards savings

Your My NRMA Rewards membership brings a host of benefits, including discounts on insurance and tyres. The figures quoted are before those discounts are applied, so be sure to take advantage of your membership and save.

Should you use a buyer’s agent?

If you don’t like shopping around or haggling with dealers, a buyer’s agent service like Motor Scout can help. Motor Scout is an NRMA partner and My NRMA Rewards members enjoy additional perks and vouchers.

The categories

We have eight categories, chosen to reflect the most relevant segments of the market where most Aussies buy. Cars can appear in multiple categories. For example, a hybrid SUV can compete in Best Small SUV and Best Hybrid.