Large under $45K: Australia’s Best Value Cars 2017

The segment that provides the most metal for your money is no longer Australia’s favourite, but there are still plenty of compelling cars to tempt SUV-averse buyers looking for lots of space.

best large car holden commodore
Gallery3

The segment that provides the most metal for your money is no longer Australia’s favourite, but there are still plenty of compelling cars to tempt SUV-averse buyers looking for lots of space.

1st: Holden Commodore Evoke

For our local Lion, going out at the top of its game beats fading into obscurity hands down. Not only is the VFII a superbly honed version of a locally developed legend that’s been around for more than a decade, it still stacks up as great value.

The entry-level Evoke V6 starts by being a bit less costly than its podium mates, and backing that with slightly better resale. Predicting the actual future values of the last Aussie-built, rear-drive Commodores is potentially tricky.

Will used values slump when the new model arrives? We think so. But will they rise again long-term? Ditto, though perhaps more for a mint SS-V than a base car. Then again, a rising tide lifts all boats... or, erm, cars.

Meantime, the big Holden’s strengths lie in low-cost insurance, reasonable annual fuel cost, and an odd nine-month service interval that matches the Aurion but not the Superb.

2nd: Skoda Superb 162 TSI

The Skoda Superb is a small fish in sales terms, yet represents The New Guard. This is today’s way of doing big cars, based on modular engineering, front-drive and a downsized turbo engine, the latter helping it do its best work in the fuel-cost column.

Best large car Skoda Superb
3

3rd: Toyota Aurion AT-X

A Toyota sedan remains a rock-solid ownership proposaition, though big cars have never been great at holding their value, as the Aurion’s 31 percent three-year Glass’s resale figure illustrates. The $776 annual insurance is 11 bucks less than the Commodore Evoke’s.

best large car toyota camry
3

Wheels Staff
Journalist

COMMENTS

Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.