Carlist’s Car of the Year Awards 2023 - Here are the year’s biggest winners, as voted by YOU!

Carlist.my held its annual Car Of The Year awards last week where the many brands that make up the tapestry of Malaysia’s vibrant automotive market were recognised for their contributions in an evening of celebration.

The event itself, organised alongside our partner for the second year running, Bridgestone, is one of the longest-running automotive awards in the country.

Reflecting the sentiments of Malaysian motorists, category winners for our People’s Choice Awards categories (30 in total) were the result of over 1,100 online votes collected between October 11th to November 7th.

The winners were:

• Best Entry-Level Car: Perodua Myvi 1.3
• Best Sub-Compact Hatchback: Toyota Yaris
• Best Sub-Compact Sedan: Honda City
• Best Compact Sedan: Honda Civic
• Best Executive Sedan: Toyota Camry
• Best Performance Hatchback: Mercedes-AMG A45 S
• Best Entry SUV: Perodua Ativa
• Best Small SUV: Proton X50
• Best Mid-Range SUV: Mazda CX-5
• Best 3-Row SUV: Mazda CX-8
• Best Small MPV: Perodua Alza
• Best Large MPV: Kia Carnival
• Best Pick-up Truck: Ford Ranger
• Best Sub-Compact Luxury Sedan: Mercedes-Benz A-Class Sedan
• Best Compact Luxury Sedan: BMW 3 Series
• Best Mid-Range Luxury Sedan: Lexus ES
• Best Limousine:  BMW 7 Series
• Most Iconic SUV: Mercedes-Benz G-Class
• Best Sub-Compact Premium SUV: Volvo XC40
• Best Compact Premium SUV: Porsche Macan
• Best Mid-Range Premium SUV: Porsche Cayenne
• Best Large Premium SUV: Range Rover
• Best Sports Car: Porsche 911 GT models
• Best Hybrid: Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid
• Best Entry EV: BYD Dolphin
• Best Compact EV: Tesla Model Y
• Best Compact Premium EV: Volvo XC40 EV
• Best Mid-Range Premium EV: BMW iX3
• Best Large Premium EV: BMW iX
• Best Flagship EV: Porsche Taycan

The second half of the awards presented were part of the Editor’s Choice Award categories (14 in total) which, discounting popularity, were comprised of the exceptional cars that had impressed the editorial team beyond their objective measure over the course of the year.

• Best Performance Hatchback: MINI JCW 3-Door
• Best Sports Car: Subaru BRZ
• Best 5-Seater SUV: Chery Omoda 5
• Best 7-Seater SUV: Peugeot 5008
• Best Small MPV: Mitsubishi XPANDER
• Best Large MPV: Nissan Serena
• Best Pick-up Truck: Isuzu D-Max X-Terrain
• Best Vehicle for SMEs: JMC Vigus Pro White Series
• Best Hybrid: Honda Civic e:HEV RS
• Most Iconic Car: Suzuki Jimny
• Best Entry EV: Ora Good Cat
• Best Compact EV: Smart #1
• Best Premium EV: Audi e-Tron GT
• Best Grand Tourer: Aston Martin DB12

All said and done, some of the night’s biggest winners were BMW and Porsche, which took home 4 awards each. Perodua, Honda, Toyota, and Mercedes-Benz meanwhile received 3 awards each.

Bridgestone also received recognition by winning the Brand Activation Campaign Award. This was due to their huge influence in the automotive aftermarket scene as one of the world's premier tyre manufacturers and innovators, support of local motorsport-centred events like CarTell Speedfest and Track Attack, as well as their commitment to sustainability through tyre advancements, exemplified in their deep involvement in the World Solar Challenge, in which Bridgestone is even sponsoring a homegrown team of UiTM students.

We hope to see a 2024 that’s just as competitive and vibrant as 2023 was, with more exciting new models coming into the market to pique the interest of Malaysian buyers.

Of course, there are cars that are launching (or have launched) in 2023 that had missed out on the Car of the Year voting and selection window such as the Proton S70 and 6th-generation Honda CR-V. No doubt they will be forces to be reckoned with next year.