Our editorial team’s predictions for 2025 included a slowdown in the electric vehicle market (see), price reductions in new cars (see), and the rise of hybrid vehicles (see).
This time last year we also tipped cheaper EVs (hello BYD Atto 1 at $23,990 plus on-roads – check) and said Toyota would be confirming new sports cars (checkmate)… even though we predicted there would be both a Celica and a CelicaAnd an MR2 (close).
Looking back, we’re pretty happy.
What we didn’t foresee was that fully autonomous driving (under supervision) would arrive in Australia in 2025, nor did we expect to be seduced by a luxury Chinese people mover and a Japanese electric supercar.
Here’s what, for better or worse, caused a stir Daily Sparkz Occupation in 2025.
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Sean Lander: The pointless gasoline power of the Mazda CX-60 G25
I had a diesel Mazda CX-60 as a long-term vehicle for a few months and jumped straight into the G25 from there.
Why Mazda would put a naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine in such a large SUV is a mystery to me.
Compared to the six-cylinder diesel, fuel economy is poor, the engine feels powerless and the NVH is atrocious. The CX-60 is a great car, it just needs the right engine.
Marton Pettendy: Surprised by Kia’s surprise
The fact that Kia seems surprised by slow Tasman sales is surprising in itself.
The Korean brand defended its first ute’s Weird Harold-esque front design by describing it as deliberately different as the unveiling of the Tasman in late 2024 was met with collective amazement from the public and the wider automotive industry. It was then said that there would not be an early facelift.
Kia has a long history of producing attractive models, dating back nearly two decades to when the company hired Audi TT designer Peter Schreyer to lead its design team, and the company knows that design is the most important purchasing criterion for an automobile.
After all the customer design clinics, product planning meetings, local development focus and expensive pre-launch hype, one should also have known that Australian buyers want vehicles that look tough and capable, not like a science experiment.
So don’t be surprised if there is actually an early facelift for the Tasman, which is otherwise a strong small car that ticks many boxes including interior design, packaging, functionality and quality as well as performance, refinement and technology.
William Stopford: Tesla’s full self-driving and the Deepal E07
My two biggest surprises involve electric vehicles.
I was skeptical when Tesla said it would ditch radar and sensors in favor of its Tesla Vision camera-only setup. I was even more doubtful about the so-called “full self-driving”.
I still have serious reservations about Tesla, but you can’t deny that the company has a lot of talented engineers. After driving Teslas equipped with Full Self-Driving for more than a week, I was completely impressed.
After all, like Autopilot, it’s still technically only a level 2 autonomous driving system, so the name – even with the suffix “Supervised” – seemed a bit exaggerated.
Fully autonomous driving is not perfect. It once crossed a solid white line, sometimes changed lanes too late, and once tried to send me up an exit even though the navigation was set to let me continue on the highway.
Still, that was a tiny handful of red crosses in a week with thousands of green ticks. The system deftly handled everything from heavy traffic and roundabouts to narrow streets.
It’s entirely possible that as this technology becomes more widespread, people will become slavishly dependent on it and unable to drive without it – like a college student who just gets ChatGPT to write all of his essays.
But as technology continues to advance, at least those of us who actually enjoy driving won’t be stuck behind hopelessly slow, hesitant self-driving cars.
Speaking of other electric vehicles, I was delighted when Deepal confirmed earlier this year that it would be bringing the Changan Nevo E07 to Australia.
There has been an unstoppable wave of new Chinese brands entering Australia over the last 18 months, and they all appear to be offering some variant of a mid-size SUV – often with electric power – or a body-on-frame SUV. Yawning.
So when I saw the E07 being unveiled in China, I thought Deepal wouldn’t be brave enough to bring this genre-bending electric vehicle to Australia. Well, they have, and it’s pretty wild.
The interior is typical of 2020s Chinese minimalism and the driving dynamics are underwhelming, but the configurability and ease with which it can be transformed from a subcompact into a stylish coupe-style SUV is impressive. No, it will never replace a traditional device, but there are likely plenty of buyers with a real use case for it.
Damion Smy: Toyota HiLux
The new Toyota HiLux is a better truck, but many expected a more significant update – rightly or wrongly.
Perhaps we’re used to Ford going all-in on the Ranger since that’s the brand’s meal plan, while Toyota has a much broader portfolio.
Ben Zachariah: Foton is actually active
The Foton Tunland Ute isn’t without its flaws, but for the money it’s a truly impressive package.
The interior design and build quality are excellent, the ride is decent – especially in the V9 – and it offers plenty of space and real off-road capability. Buyers are unlikely to get better results for the money.
James Wong: Legal latency
Despite the entry into force of the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) and increasing pressure from new competition from China, it appears some long-established brands are asleep at the wheel.
New vehicles with Euro V-certified powertrains are still being launched due to a lack of fuel and emissions-saving technologies in other parts of the world, and that’s quite something to look at.
Even more confusing is the fact that a number of new and updated models from older brands have been launched that barely meet this year’s NVES emissions caps, despite even stricter limits coming into effect next year.
Perhaps there will be bigger changes in 2026, but given that these regulatory actions have been a long time coming, it’s disappointing that some of the biggest names in the automotive world haven’t done more to reduce fuel consumption and emissions this year.
Daily Sparkz: Ferrari 296 Speciale
I expected this to be another negative slide towards electrification and away from the purity of modern supercars, and was pleasantly surprised.
What an absolutely magnificent car, the best application of hybrid technology and yet all the emotions that make a Ferrari what it should be.
Josh Nevett: Zeekr’s Zeppelin
I never thought I’d be raving about an electric people carrier at Christmas time, but here we are.
It’s simple: every VIP chauffeur should drive a Zeekr 009. The stillness of the stream allows tired customers to take a nap, made even easier by the addition of plush captain’s chairs in the second row. This calm atmosphere also ensures stress-free driving.
The passenger area houses a large entertainment screen supported by a 30-speaker Yamaha sound system, as well as a refrigerator. In other words, all bases are covered. And despite its size and intended use, the 009 has a lot to offer.
I drove the dual-motor version, which produces 450kW and 693Nm, and it delivers surprisingly well. This led to some hilarious drag racing on the ramp – all of which I won.
At the same time, the 009 drives easily independently with a range of highly developed driver assistance systems – again perfect for professional drivers who regularly sit behind the wheel for long periods of time.
There’s no denying that Zeekr’s local flagship costs a lot of money, but it largely justifies the high price through self-indulgent excess. It also compares favorably with more conventional alternatives such as the Lexus LM and Mercedes-Benz V-Class.
China sets the standard for absolute luxury – who would have thought?
Max Davies: Lexus LFA concept
I was close to listing this car among my biggest disappointments of 2024, and it’s still not entirely clear.
First of all, it’s impossible to ignore that Lexus has now applied the LFA name to an electric concept. The original 2010 LFA is synonymous with a phenomenal sounding V10 engine. So it’s a little disheartening to know that its likely successor won’t have an engine at all.
But everything else about it piqued my interest. It’s one of, if not the, prettiest concept cars unveiled in 2025, and nothing about the electric powertrain takes away from its truly stunning design.
Aside from some clearly dysfunctional side mirrors and a sci-fi interior, it looks production-ready, showing Lexus’ clear intention to recapture at least some of the magic of the V10 LFA halo car of yesteryear.
That’s the other thing to consider. The original LFA was nothing more than a demonstration of Toyota’s engineering prowess – the pinnacle of what the Japanese brand’s engineers could achieve when they had the will and resources.
Who says these engineers can’t do similar magic with an electric car instead? When it actually goes into production, you can definitely expect something very special.
Plus, Toyota is already putting a twin-turbo hybrid V8 in a halo sports car, which is probably a smart move given the poor value retention of high-end electric cars.
