Australia's best value performance car 2019 winner

Best value car award

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Wheels' Gold Star car award uses data such as depreciation and running costs to calculate what the best value new cars in eight different segments are. To understand how we calculate the numbers and what considerations were put into the algorithm, read the 2019 Gold Star Car Award 101 here.

The top 3 performance car contenders

• Volkswagen Polo GTI

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• Renault Clio RS 200

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• Peugeot 208 GTI

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What the numbers said

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Just as hyper-hatches own the $75K-plus Performance category for value, the humble hot-hatch is the dominant force in the sub-$75K hi-po segment. Turbocharged light hatches took out all three podium spots, relegating any sort of rear-drive sports car variety (in the form of the Toyota 86 and Mazda MX-5) to also-rans, as well as ousting the Hyundai i30 N.

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The hi-po placegetters are all in the $30K ballpark, but the Polo hangs on to substantially more of that outlay than rivals with a tidy 56 percent three-year resale figure. It’s the least costly to insure too, at $662/year for comprehensive cover.

Wheels' pick

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Hyundai i30 N $39,990

Despite pricing itself out of contention for the win against the $30K trio, Hyundai’s first go at a hot-hatch is a cracker, and won our 2018 mega-test at the ltra-challenging Haunted Hills circuit in Victoria. Beyond a well-sorted chassis, it has a feisty engine that makes all the right noises.