A koala has cheated death after being hit by a car travelling at 100 kilometres an hour and dragged for 12 kilometres with his head stuck through the car's front grill.

The three-year-old male koala was hit by the car on Dayboro Road, north of Brisbane.

But the driver was not aware of the unlucky hitchhiker until she stopped 12 kilometres down the road at the Petrie train station.

Amazingly, the koala was not badly hurt despite being found dangling from the front of the car with its head and arm wedged through the vehicle's grill.

Staff at the Australian Wildlife Hospital on the Sunshine Coast have dubbed the koala Ely 'Lucky' Grills.

Manager Gail Gipp is still shaking her head in disbelief.

"He was very flat and unresponsive for a couple of hours, but a bit of TLC and some feed and some fluids and a bit of pain relief because obviously he would have had a headache, he was up and eating and doing really well," she said.