The 12 finalists of South Africa’s unique and premier motoring event were announced last week. After carefully sifting through 27 semi-finalists the 29-member jury have selected the 2013 WesBank / South African Guild of Motoring Journalists (SAGMJ) Car of the Year contenders.
The 12 finalists of South Africa’s unique and premier motoring event were announced last week. After carefully sifting through 27 semi-finalists the 29-member jury have selected the 2013 WesBank / South African Guild of Motoring Journalists (SAGMJ) Car of the Year contenders.
They are (in alphabetical order):
• 2012 BMW 3 Series 320i Automatic
• 2012 Ford Ranger 3.2 XLT 4X4 Double Cab Diesel AT
• 2012 Hyundai i30 1.8 Executive
• 2012 Kia Rio 1.4 TEC Hatch MT
• 2012 Lexus GS 350 EX
• 2012 Mercedes-Benz B 180 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY
• 2012 Nissan Juke 1.6 DIG-T Tekna (Leather)
• 2012 Opel Meriva 1.4T Cosmo
• 2012 Porsche Boxster
• 2012 Range Rover Evoque Si4 Dynamic 5-door
• 2012 Toyota 86 High Spec 6MT
• 2012 Toyota Yaris 1.5 HSD Xs
The next step in the process will be to determine the winner from a two-day test session to be held in February at the Gerotek test facility near Pretoria, where the jury members will assess the cars independently.
In keeping with the competition’s broadened scope, the testing at Gerotek will allow the vehicles to be evaluated under the conditions individual vehicles would be expected to perform under. The routes are designed to test the vehicles in a similar way to how the average consumer would use them.
The test days offer the jury the opportunity to reacquaint themselves with the vehicles and specific aspects such as aesthetics, build quality, ergonomics, fuel consumption, environmental friendliness, safety features and value for money.
South Africa’s Car of the Year competition – sponsored for the past 28 years by wheels bank, WesBank, with additional support from Total and Hollard Insurance – is unique in the world in that it is determined by three rounds of voting. The first round of voting is open to all full members of the SAGMJ and yields the semi-finalists, where after a second round of voting, open to only the jury, determines the finalists.
Following the two-day test sessions at Gerotek, a final allocation of points by the jury is tallied and audited before an overall winner is announced.
