Announced at The Country Club Johannesburg, Woodmead, and hosted by WesBank and the South African Guild of Motoring Journalists (SAGMJ), the final list follows a vote cast by a 28-member Jury, elected by their peers, of an original list of 35 eligible vehicle ranges.
The finalists for the 2017 WesBank South African Car of the Year competition, South Africa’s premier motoring event, are (in alphabetical order):
• AUDI A4 SEDAN
• HONDA CIVIC
• HYUNDAI TUCSON
• JAGUAR F-PACE
• MAZDA CX-3
• OPEL ASTRA
• RENAULT KADJAR
• TOYOTA FORTUNER
• VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT
• VOLKSWAGEN TIGUAN
The competition now moves into high gear as preparations are made for two days of stringent evaluations at the beginning of February 2017. At these evaluation days – the most critical of which will be the scheduled procedures at the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit – the COTY Jury will assess the cars independently, with routes and modules designed to test the vehicles in a similar way in which the average consumer would use them.
The evaluation days offer the Jury the opportunity to reacquaint themselves with the vehicles on specific aspects including aesthetics, build quality, ergonomics, fuel consumption, environmental friendliness, safety features and value for money.
The Jury will also have access to performance test data, comparative pricing and specification data, as well as comparative parts pricing data, compiled by the Guild’s digital partner, MAPO.
While all of the vehicles that are participating in the event represent examples of outstanding automotive engineering, there can be only one winner. After careful deliberation by the COTY Jury, the vehicle range that best represents automotive excellence when compared to its segment peers, will be crowned the 2017 WesBank South African Car of the Year.
The winner will be revealed at a gala banquet on 15 March 2017.
