2018 Wheels Car of the Year announced tonight

IT’S THAT time again! Tonight, the 2018 Wheels Car of the Year will be crowned.

More than 11,000km were driven to find the winner of the most illustrious motoring award in Australia, and in a matter of hours all will be revealed, right here.

It takes our panel of judges seven days of gruelling testing and deliberation to find a victor. Representatives from the motoring industry will gather this evening to see the hard-earned COTY trophy presented at the Australian Motoring Awards in Melbourne.

During the night other winners of the Motor Performance Car of the Year, WhichCar Style Award, and 4x4 of the Year will also be announced.

Wheels Car of the Year is the longest continuously-running motoring award in the world, having recognised the best new vehicle of the past 12 months every year since 1963.

More than 20 models took part in testing this year, with the field whittled down to just six finalists – the Alfa Romeo Giulia, Kia Stinger, Mazda CX-5, Skoda Kodiaq, Suzuki Swift and Volvo XC60.

However, only one can be called the 2018 Wheels Car of the Year.

There is a potential for a first-time victor tonight, with Volvo, Skoda, Alfa Romeo, Kia and Suzuki all yet to win the award. Mazda is coming into the finals off the back of two successive victories by the MX-5 in 2016, and CX-9 in 2017. The Japanese manufacturer has won Wheels Car of the Year a total of eight times.

Those who had their say in the COTY Readers’ Choice competition will find out who takes that accolade tomorrow. Before then, tune in to our website and social media channels at 10pm AEDT tonight to find out who wins the big one for 2018.