The best-selling variants of Australia’s favourite new cars, SUVs, utes and vans
Each month, the auto industry reports sales results for cars, utes, vans and SUVs – and ranks each brand. But which model grades within the range are the most popular? We crunch the numbers to find out.
Each month, the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) publishes VFACTS reports that rank the sales of makes and models of cars, utes, vans and SUVs.
However, the data barely scratches the surface when it comes to buyer preferences according to model grades.
We know Toyota sells a lot of HiLux utes and Ford sells a lot of Ford Rangers, but which variants are the most popular? We're about to find out.
Drive has compiled a guide to the top-selling model grades in 26 of Australia's most popular new vehicle segments, across 88 vehicles.
Note: Data sourced via manufacturers (unless specified otherwise). For information on which time periods each figure is based on, see the full list at the bottom of this story.
PASSENGER CARS
Micro cars
- Kia Picanto – GT-Line, 56 per cent
- Mitsubishi Mirage – ES, 87.8 per cent
Light cars under $25,000
- MG 3 – Core (without nav), 56.5 per cent
- Mazda 2 – G15 Pure, 38 per cent
- Volkswagen Polo – Comfortline DSG, 41 per cent (typically third each month)
Light cars over $25,000
- Mini 5-Door Hatch – Cooper, 62 per cent (of 137 cars sold)
- Mini 3-Door Hatch – Cooper S, 32 per cent (of 113 cars sold)
- Audi A1 – 35 TFSI, 60 per cent
- Citroen C3 – Shine, 100 per cent (only variant available)
Small cars under $40,000
- Hyundai i30 – Active, 26 per cent
- Toyota Corolla – Ascent Sport, 77 per cent (Ascent Sport hybrid hatch 27.8 per cent of total Corolla sales)
- Kia Cerato – GT hatch and sedan, 33 per cent (S hatch 25 per cent of total sales alone)
- Mazda 3 – G20 Evolve, 22.9 per cent (hatch 52 per cent of variant sales)
Bonus: Volkswagen Golf (eighth place), Life and R-Line tied 31 per cent
Small cars over $40,000
- Mercedes-Benz A-Class – A180, 45 per cent
- BMW 1 Series – 118i, 72 per cent
- BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe – 220i, 65 per cent
Medium cars under $60,000
- Toyota Camry – Ascent, 59 per cent (hybrid 48.1 per cent of total Camry sales)
- Mazda 6 – Touring, 30.6 per cent (sedan 65 per cent of variant sales)
- Hyundai Sonata – N Line, 100 per cent (only variant)
- Skoda Octavia – RS, 34 per cent
Medium cars over $60,000
- BMW 3 Series – 330i sedan, 56 per cent
- Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedan – C200, 55 per cent
- Mercedes-Benz CLA – CLA200, 40 per cent
Bonus: BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe – 430i, 40 per cent
Large cars under $70,000
- Kia Stinger – GT, 92 per cent
- Skoda Superb – 206TSI Sportline, 72 per cent
Large cars over $70,000
- Porsche Taycan – 4S
- BMW 5 Series – 530d sedan, 34 per cent
- Mercedes-Benz E-Class – E200, 40 per cent
Upper large cars over $100,000
- Mercedes-Benz S-Class – S450, 55 per cent (S-Class is segment leader by significant margin)
People movers (all price brackets)
- Kia Carnival – S, 49 per cent (S diesel 35 per cent of total Carnival sales, Platinum diesel 36 per cent)
- Hyundai Staria – base variant, 55 per cent
- Honda Odyssey – Vi LX7, 70 per cent
Sports cars under $80,000
- Ford Mustang – GT, 62 per cent (excludes Mach 1; total V8 Mustang sales estimated at 90 per cent)
- Subaru BRZ – Coupe S, 70 per cent
Sports cars from $80,000 to $200,000
- BMW 4 Series Coupe/Convertible – 420i Coupe, 23.7 per cent of total (or 31 per cent of coupe sales)
- Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe/Cabriolet– C63 S, 60 per cent
- Chevrolet Corvette – unconfirmed (58 sold in total so far this year)
Bonus: Best-selling BMW 4 Series Convertible variant is the M4 Competition xDrive, with 54 per cent of Convertible sales (or 12.6 per cent of all two-door sales).
Sports cars over $200,000
- Porsche 911 – Carrera S (911 is sales leader in segment by significant margin)
SUVs
Light SUVs
- Mazda CX-3 – Maxx Sport automatic, 54 per cent
- Toyota Yaris Cross – GX, 60 per cent (GX hybrid 37.4 per cent of total Yaris Cross sales)
- Hyundai Venue – Elite, 43 per cent
Small SUVs under $40,000
- MG ZS – Excite 1.5-litre, 70.8 per cent (in Jan-Feb 2022; or 43 per cent in 2021)
- Mazda CX-30 – G20 Evolve, 20 per cent
- Kia Seltos – Sport+, 39 per cent (Sport+ 2.0 FWD 31 per cent of total Seltos sales)
- Hyundai Kona – base variant, 37 per cent
- Mitsubishi ASX – ES, 58.2 per cent
Small SUVs over $40,000
- Volvo XC40 – T4 Inscription, 36 per cent (for Jan-Feb 2022; 37 per cent in 2021)
- Mercedes-Benz GLA – GLA250, 50 per cent
- BMW X1 – sDrive20i, 68 per cent
Medium SUVs under $60,000
- Toyota RAV4 – Cruiser, 40 per cent (Cruiser hybrid 25 per cent of total RAV4 sales)
- Mazda CX-5 – Maxx Sport, 43.9 per cent (FWD petrol 35 per cent of total CX-5 sales)
- Mitsubishi Outlander – LS, 51.1 per cent
- Subaru Forester – 2.5i-S, 40 per cent
- Kia Sportage – S, 39 per cent (S petrol 28 per cent of total Sportage sales, GT-Line petrol 23 per cent)
- Nissan X-Trail – ST, 61.5 per cent (supply restricted)
- Hyundai Tucson – Highlander, 27 per cent (N Line pack 64 per cent of total Tucson sales)
Bonus: MG HS (10th) – Core, 27.7 per cent (Excite behind on 21 per cent)
Medium SUVs over $60,000
- Mercedes-Benz GLC – GLC300, 50 per cent
- Audi Q5 – 45 TFSI Sport, 40 per cent (as SQ5 limited by supply)
- BMW X3 – xDrive30i, 52 per cent
- Lexus NX (new model) – NX350h, 45 per cent (NX350 follows with 25 per cent plus)
- Volvo XC60 – B5 Inscription, 40 per cent (for Jan-Feb 2022; 44 per cent in 2021)
Large SUVs under $70,000
- Toyota Prado – GXL, 56.6 per cent
- Ford Everest – Trend, 41 per cent (followed by Sport, 36 per cent)
- Isuzu MU-X – LS-T, about 40 per cent (according to dealer sources)
Large SUVs over $70,000
- BMW X5 – xDrive30d, 70 per cent
- Mercedes-Benz GLE – GLE400d, 30 per cent
- Lexus RX – RX350 five-seater, 33.3 per cent (RX450h 20 per cent, L seven-seaters each 11 per cent plus)
Upper large SUVs under $100,000
- Toyota LandCruiser 200/300 Series – LC200 GXL, 30.9 per cent
- Nissan Patrol – Ti, 73.5 per cent
Upper large SUVs over $100,000
- BMW X7 – xDrive30d, 79 per cent
- Mercedes-Benz GLS – GLS450, 50 per cent
LIGHT COMMERCIAL VEHICLES
Utes
- Toyota HiLux – SR5 dual-cab diesel 4x4 automatic, 18.5 per cent
- Ford Ranger – XLT and Wildtrak, 30 per cent each
- Mitsubishi Triton – GLX-R, 42.0 per cent (combining 4x2 and 4x4) or GLX+ 4x4, 26.2 per cent
- Isuzu D-Max – X-Terrain dual-cab 4x4, over 20 per cent (according to dealer sources)
- Mazda BT-50 – XTR dual-cab pick-up 4x4 auto, 18 per cent
Bonus: Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series (all body styles) – GXL Dual Cab Chassis, 45.7 per cent
Small van
- Renault Kangoo – SWB, 53.1 per cent (auto 50 per cent of total Kangoo sales, manual 3.1 per cent)
- Volkswagen Caddy – Cargo TDI320, 35 per cent
- Peugeot Partner – City or Pro, percentages unclear
Medium van
- Toyota HiAce – LWB diesel auto, 61.9 per cent
- LDV G10 – G10+ diesel auto, 68 per cent
- Hyundai Staria Load – liftback, 93 per cent
Which time periods does this data apply to?
While Drive endeavoured to source sales data for the first two months of 2022 – to ensure a level playing field – the nature of some brands' supply chains means 2021 (or a different time period) was more representative. The figures listed above apply to the following sales periods:
- January 2021 to February 2022: Honda (Odyssey)
- Full-year 2021: Ford, Nissan, Porsche and Toyota
- November 2021 to February 2022: LDV
- First two months of 2022: Audi, Hyundai, Kia, Lexus, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, MG, Mini, Mitsubishi, Peugeot, Renault, Skoda, Subaru, Volkswagen, Volvo
- First three months of 2022: BMW, Chevrolet, Citroen, Isuzu (figures are based on the latest car company information shared with dealer sources)