Car of the Year 2009

Congratulations to the winner, 2009 People's Choice Best First Car: Ford Fiesta.

Congratulations to the winner, 2009 People's Choice Best SUV/4WD: Toyota Prado.Toyota Prado 2010: PreviewToyota Prado: First Drive reviewToyota Prado for saleGet the specsDealer locations

Congratulations to the Winner, 2009 People's Choice Award for Best Commercial Vehicle: Maserati Gran Turismo.

Congratulations to the 2009 People's Choice Award for Best Commercial Vehicle: Toyota HiLux.

It is the Ford Fiesta ECOnetic, which re-set the economy benchmark this year at just 3.7L/100km - that is 76.3 miles-per-gallon in pre-decimal currency - and also produces just 98 grams of carbon for

The Mercedes-Benz E Class is good, the Ford Fiesta is better, but the Golf is best of all from more than 100 new cars that landed in Australia over the past year.

It doesn't really matter what you call it, the push is all about sustainability and leaving as much as we can from this generation for the next rather than gobbling up finite resources with no regard

It doesn't really matter what you call it, the push is all about sustainability and leaving as much as we can from this generation for the next rather than gobbling up finite resources with no regard

The field for the COTY contest will be set over the next two weeks as the 100-plus new arrivals this year _ everything from the baby Suzuki Alto to Holden's latest economy-focussed Commodore and the brutally luxurious BMW X6 M, is whittled down by the most experienced team of jurors in Australian motoring.Between them, the nine COTY judges have more than 150 years of combined experience as reporters, testers and commentators on the Australian motor industry.  They also make up the only coast-to-coast crew and are drawn from News Limited daily papers and the Carsguide.com.au website.The first group of five COTY finalists will be named next week, with the final members of the 10-car field locked into place the following week.  Once the field is set, the judges will assess the contenders for their value, safety, economy, safety, style and comfort.  The objective is to find the car that does the best job in every area, at the best price, for Australian car buyers in 2009.The test process is exhaustive, from city, country and highway running to a racetrack session at Lakeside in Queensland to assess the car's dynamic and safety abilities.  The 2009 COTY will join a long and strong list of previous winners from the Holden Commodore VT in 1997 to the Ford Falcon G6E, which took the crown in 2008.This year's COTY contest begins today with the naming of the four cars which will fight for the Green Car of the Year award. For all the stories, video and photos of this year's awards, visit Carsguide Car of the Year 2009. Make One Degree of difference today by calculating your carbon footprint and finding out what you can do to reduce it.