This is it – the moment of truth.
All week we’ve been counting down the best cars of the 21st century and now we’ve arrived at the final five. It’s an eclectic mix but one that represents the past 25 years well, in our opinion, with everything that has happened since the year 2000.
Like we’ve been saying all week, we want to know what you think – did we get it right? Or are we completely wrong? Let us know what your favourite car of the 21st century is in the comments below or join the conversation on social media.
5. 2013 Tesla Model S
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – whether you love electric cars or hate them, you cannot deny their existence and the role they are playing in our current market, nor the impact they will have on what we drive in the future. And you can thank/blame (delete as preferred) the Model S for that.
When it launched in 2013 EVs were still a fringe product, mostly because they were very small cars that cost a large sum of money. The genius of Tesla was to build a bigger, more luxurious vehicle and then sell it on its performance as much as anything else. Suddenly, EVs weren’t about just range, but how fast they could do 0-100km/h. And because the Model S was seen as a rival to the likes of the BMW 5-Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class, its six-figure price tag didn’t seem so outrageous as a hatchback that cost $50k.
It became the catalyst for all of the Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Porsche and other electric cars were inundated with – whether you like them or not.
It also opened the door for the Chinese car industry, which saw an opportunity to catch up with the rest of the world that it would have struggled to do with internal combustion engines – and that will almost certainly reshape what we drive in the next 25 years.
4. 2005 Bugatti Veyron
This is a special car because it made cars special again. As the world was moving away from supercars and towards an era of sensible vehicles, Bugatti suddenly emerged with a car capable of driving more than 430km/h!
Why? Because it could. Volkswagen Group took control of the famous French brand and decided the easiest way to make it relevant again was the headline-grabbing top speed figure. So it set about creating the technical masterpiece that is its 8.0-litre quad-turbo W16 engine to give it enough power to rocket past anything else on the road.
This was a car that made us marvel at cars again and wonder what the limits could be, and it spurred on the rest of the supercar industry to lift their efforts.
3. 2011 Ford Ranger
If you want to understand how good the Ford Ranger is look no further than the sales charts. Before it arrived Ford sold less than 15,000 Rangers, and was not a main player in the ute market. But in its final year on sale in 2021, it was not only one of the most popular utes in the country but one of the best-selling vehicles, notching more than 50,000 sales.
Ford redefined what a dual-cab ute was and could be with this first-generation ‘T6’ model, which was designed and engineered in Australia, and in doing so helped to reshape the Australian automotive landscape. Since the start of the 21st century Australian families have seemingly moved away from the likes of the Ford Falcon and into the Ranger and its rivals, as utes have become more civilised and better to drive.
Ford elevated that even further in 2018 with the launch of the Ranger Raptor, taking the ute into the void left by the demise of the XR8 and FPV Falcons. This too helped act as a catalyst for a flood of more premium and performance-orientated utes that we see today.
2. 2012 Toyota 86
With all due respect to Subaru and the identical BRZ, I’m giving the runner-up spot to the 86 on its own. I’ll admit it’s a bit unfair as both the 86 and BRZ offered the same affordable, rear-wheel drive driving thrills, but there’s something greater about the Toyota version.
The 86 wasn’t just a one-off ‘fun’ project for Toyota, it represents part of a wider movement across the company to shed its image for building ‘whitegoods on wheels’ and instead make exciting, interesting and appealing cars again.
The 86 helped to pave the way for the return of the Supra as well as the global launch of the Gazoo Racing (GR) performance sub-brand, which spawned the GR Yaris and GR Corolla hot hatches (two cars that were unlucky not to make this list).
The influence of the 86 even spread to the likes of the Camry and other models in the range, with Toyota putting noticeably more effort into the handling and driving dynamics of its vehicles ever since it arrived.
1. 2013 Holden Commodore VF
Yes, this is a clearly biased, Australian-centric list and we don’t care – the VF Commodore was a masterpiece and it deserves top spot on this list. An evolution of the also-exceptional VE Commodore, this was a world-class vehicle designed, engineered and manufactured in Australia.
It demonstrated that what we built here was good enough to take on any would-be rivals around the world. And it got the chance to prove that with exports to the USA (as the Chevrolet SS) and the United Kingdom (wearing the Vauxhall VXR8 badge).
From the entry-level V6-powered Evoke to the V8-powered, luxury-appointed Calais and Calais V, the VF Commodore was a sophisticated and engaging sedan to drive. The SS, SS-V and SS-V Redline took that to the next level and turned it into a brilliant sports sedan (or performance ute) that was a pleasure on the road and a riot on the track.
Then there was the crowning achievement, and what is arguably the best Australian-made car of all time – the HSV GTSR W1. Just 300 examples were made of this final Commodore-based Holden Special Vehicle, but the company refused to just do a ‘sticker pack’ and instead pulled out all the stops. The W1 featured the Chevrolet LS9 supercharged V8 from the Corvette, good for 474kW/815Nm, V8 Supercar-derived SupaShock suspension and Pirelli P-Zero Trofeo R tyres (ending HSV’s decades long relationship with Bridgestone).
This was the ultimate send-off for the Australian car manufacturing era and a brilliant car in its own right. And a worthy #1 for this list.
Top 25 cars of the 21st century
6. 2015 Ford Mustang
7. 2002 Ferrari Enzo
8. 2013 Porsche 918 Spyder
9. 2013 Ferrari 458 Speciale
10. 2021 Aston Martin Valkyrie
11. 2024 Ford Mustang GTD
12. 2002 Porsche Cayenne
13. 2020 Chevrolet Corvette C8
14. 2017 Honda Civic Type R
15. 2015 Porsche 911 GT3 RS
16. 2016 Mazda MX-5
17. 2017 McLaren Senna
18. 2008 Tesla Roadster
19. 2003 Bentley Continental GT
20. 2019 Land Rover Defender
21. 2012 Volkswagen Golf
22. 2010 Lexus LFA
23. 2007 Nissan GT-R
24. 2017 Hyundai i30 N
25. 2011 Nissan Leaf
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