Drive Car of the Year 2025 – Best Urban Electric Vehicle Under $100K finalists announced – UPDATE
Yesterday at 09:08 PM
Here is every finalist in the running for the Drive Car of the Year 2025 – Best Urban Electric Vehicle 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 Urban Electric Vehicle Under $100K
UPDATE, 20 December 2024 – FINALISTS CONFIRMED
Judges have completed the first round of voting to select the three finalists that will compete for the 2025 Drive Car of the Year Best Urban Electric Vehicle Under $100K award.
The Tesla Model 3 is the 2024 winner of this category, and has made it back into the finalists’ circle for 2025.
There have been no changes to the car since late 2023 – when it received a heavy facelift with new styling, improved technology, a longer range and a more supple ride – but price cuts in recent months have sharpened the value, now starting from $64,900 plus on-road costs in Long Range all-wheel-drive trim.
That specification delivers buyers up to 629km of claimed WLTP driving range, 0-100km/h acceleration in 4.4 seconds, and features such as a 15.4-inch touchscreen, heated and ventilated front seats, and a power-operated boot lid.
Read more about the Tesla Model 3.
The BMW i4 range launched in 2022 in eDrive 40 and M50 guises, but the addition of a more affordable eDrive 35 grade in calendar-year 2024 has brought the electric mid-size car back into contention for a 2025 Drive Car of the Year category award win.
Priced from $85,900 plus on-road costs, the new variant slides under the Luxury Car Tax threshold to take advantage of Fringe Benefits Tax exemptions, delivering 430km of claimed electric driving range, and the cachet of a BMW badge.
The BMW and Tesla are joined by another mid-size electric car, the Polestar 4, a ‘fastback’ from the part-Swedish, part-Chinese brand that blurs the line between sedan, hatchback and SUV.
Its calling card is the lack of a rear window – instead delivering a rear-view feed through a camera, a design intended to maintain a low and sloping roofline without compromising rear-seat headroom – plus a stylish cabin, plenty of technology, and a quiet drive.
Both variants – Long Range Single Motor and Long Range Dual Motor – slide under the $100,000 price cap, but the cheaper $78,500 single-motor grade gives more room for selecting option packages.
Read more about the Polestar 4.
The Drive Car of the Year Best Urban Electric Vehicle Under $100K will be announced on 24 February 2025.
The below was published on 19 November 2024.
Few environments should suit an electric car better than an urban area, where driving distances are short – and many buyers have access to easy, affordable, off-street charging.
Urban Electric Vehicle Under $100K is one of the most diverse categories in the Drive Car of the Year 2025 field.
While Electric Vehicle Under $50K focuses on the budget end of the market, and Family Electric Vehicle Under $100K majors on space and ultimate practicality, this category looks for stylish, cutting-edge all-rounders.
They shouldn’t be overtly family-focused, nor designed primarily for high-performance driving, but they should be priced between $50,000 and $100,000 before on-road costs.
Introduced last year, this category’s maiden winner was the Tesla Model 3, fresh off a heavy facelift that brought an updated exterior, plusher interior, more comfortable driving experience, and longer driving range.
The Model 3 is unchanged in this category for 2025, although during 2024 Tesla introduced the Model 3 Performance. Another significant change has been a lower price – only sharpening the value equation.
It will face off against one of the broadest fields in this year’s awards, with everything from pint-sized city hatchbacks to luxury executive sedans.
The Volvo EX30 didn’t arrive in time for the 2024 awards, so it joins the mix for 2025, alongside models from new brands to Australia such as the return of the Smart brand, offering two very different cars to its city cars of old, with the #1 and #3 SUVs.
The Tesla’s closest challenger is the new entry-level version of the BMW i4, the eDrive 35, a new powertrain variant that brings the model under the $91,387 Luxury Car Tax threshold to unlock tax concessions for novated leasing customers.
Other contenders range from the Abarth 500e city hot hatch, to the new-generation Mini Cooper hatch and Countryman SUV electric vehicles.
FAQs
Which cars are eligible for this category?
Drive's rules require that, for a car to be eligible, it must:
- Be all-new or significantly updated.
- Be on sale with customer deliveries commenced by 31 December 2024.
- Retail examples be made available for Drive to road test before that cut-off date.
- Pricing cut-offs exclude discounts and limited-time offers.
| 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. |
| Abarth 500e Audi Q4 e-tron BMW iX2 BMW i4 eDrive 35 – finalist Jeep Avenger Mercedes-Benz EQA Mini Cooper Electric Mini Countryman Electric Polestar 4 – finalist Renault Megane E-Tech Smart #1 Smart #3 Tesla Model 3 (defending) – finalist Volvo EX30 Zeekr X | None |
What are the next steps?
The winner of the 2025 Drive Car of the Year – Best Urban Electric Vehicle Under $100K will be announced in February 2025.
Before then, we will announce the finalists, all of which deliver status and capability to electric-car buyers who want a cutting-edge everyday vehicle.
Read more:
Drive Car of the Year 2025 is a go!
Drive Car of the Year Overview
Drive Car of the Year 2024 winners
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