We all know how car addiction starts. You see that first model on the road or in a video game or TV show, and before you know it, you’ve plastered your childhood room with posters of different cars that inspire you to dream big.
I’ll never forget unwrapping that yellow Lamborghini Murcielago Hot Wheels accompanied by a racing track on my fifth birthday. The sight of the then-futuristic looking car spawned hours of adventures that included endless fictional getaways.
And while your dream car is a reflection of your own taste, new research has revealed the models more Australians dream of one day owning.
According to a survey conducted by UK-based insurance comparison site MoneySuperMarket – which polled more than 4000 drivers from different countries including Australia – the Porsche 911 tops the list when it comes to an Australian driver's dream car.
The insurance comparison site also analysed five years of Google search history to find the most popular cars researched online, and the Porsche 911 accrued more than 3.65 million searches in that span.
For reference, the Porsche 911 range starts from $296,700 before on-road costs for the base-spec Carrera and tops out at the new 911 Turbo S (from $588,000), the brand’s fastest 911 model in existence.
As reported by Drive in September 2025, the 2026 hybrid Porsche 911 Turbo S is as fast as a Bugatti Veyron, said to be capable of reaching zero to 100km/h in 2.5 seconds.
The hybrid coupe is powered by the marque’s new 3.6-litre twin-turbocharged ‘flat’ six-cylinder, with claimed power outputs sitting at 523kW/800Nm. Rather than send power to the wheels, the electric component assists the six-cylinder petrol engine and aids the turbos' spin under a low throttle load.
Despite some consumer hesitation, more Australians are starting to adopt electric cars to their garages, and the survey showed they're also high on the dream-car list.
According to the MoneySuperMarket survey, Aussies are dreaming of the day they can add a Tesla Model Y (second) and Model 3 (third) to their driveways.
The Tesla Model Y electric SUV was the most popular battery-powered model sold by volume in 2025, with 22,239 examples reported as sold last year. Additionally, the battery-powered SUV ranked 10th in terms of overall sales in the full calendar year.
On a national level, fully-electric vehicles accounted for 8.3 per cent of new car sales in 2025, with 103,270 battery-powered models – up 13.1 per cent year on year – finding new homes last year.
Meanwhile, the Model 3 sedan ranked third in sales volume last year, with Tesla accruing 6617 sales in 2025.
While the survey showed Australia’s growing appetite for electric-powered cars, locals are still showing their love for iconic petrol models including the Ford Mustang (fourth), as well as the BMW M3 (fifth).
Additionally, sports cars including the Mitsubishi Lancer, Nissan Skyline and Toyota 86 were cited by Australians as the car they dreamed of the most and hope to one day own.
When asked what made their favourite car dream worthy, more than half (51 per cent) of survey participants said they fell in love with the way the car looked.
Meanwhile, 47 per cent appreciated the engineering work of the model, while 36 per cent claimed their dream car matched their personal aesthetic.
Unsurprisingly, approximately (67 per cent) said the high retail price remained the biggest buying hurdle, while 23 per cent said high running costs were also a cause of concern. A further 8 per cent admitted their dream car would be too impractical to own for daily use.
According to MoneySuperMarket car insurance expert Alicia Hempsted, luxury cars generally commanded higher insurance premiums due to the high cost of repairs if the car was damaged.
“Dreaming big when it comes to cars is exciting, but it's worth taking a step back to consider the full financial picture – especially if that dream comes with a hefty price tag,” Hempsted said.
“Luxury vehicles often carry higher purchase prices, and because insurers face greater potential losses if the car is written off, car insurance premiums for these models can be significantly higher.”
Despite dreaming big, only 20 per cent of Australian respondents believed they would own their dream model at some point, 9 per cent lower than the global average (29 per cent).
Globally, the Ford Mustang topped the list of respondents' dream cars, with the muscle car accruing more than 116 million Google searches over a five-year span.
The Porsche 911 ranked second (approximately 91 million searches), followed by the Dodge Charger in third (87 million), Tesla Model 3 (82 million) in fourth, and the Ford Bronco (66 million) in fifth.
Ethan Cardinal graduated with a Journalism degree in 2020 from La Trobe University and has been working in the fashion industry as a freelance writer prior to joining Drive in 2023. Ethan greatly enjoys investigating and reporting on the cross sections between automotive, lifestyle and culture. Ethan relishes the opportunity to explore how deep cars are intertwined within different industries and how they could affect both casual readers and car enthusiasts.
