Predicting SA’s Car of the Year
One of the jury members, shortlists his five favourites for the title
THE 2017 SA Guild of Motoring Journalists (SAGMJ) / Wesbank Car of the Year contest has entered its home stretch, with the 28 jury members having put the nine finalists through their paces over two rather busy days in Gauteng last week.
The first part took the form of various track courses designed to test the finalists’ grip, stability, steering action and manoeuvrability. The second day gave us a chance to experience the finalists on a route of our own choice, and I made a point of finding some rough dirt roads close to the base venue near Erasmia, which could give the many SUVs in the contest a chance to prove themselves in an environment that they were ultimately designed for.
It was also a day of tyre-kicking, touch-screen fiddling, squeezing into the back seat and lifting tailgates to suss out boot space, while inputting scores on each vehicle for 12 factors that cover exterior design, interior materials, layout, technology, engine, gearbox, engineering, ride, steering/handling, affordability, value and overall excellence. The jury also voted to determine which five of these factors would receive additional weighting when the scores were tallied up.
To keep things fair, jury members must not compare the finalists to each other while scoring, but rather to each entrant’s direct market rivals.
Which one is going to win? We’ll have to wait for the big announcement on the evening of March 15, but having served two days of jury duty there are five cars that I feel stand the best shot of winning, and here they are in alphabetical order: Audi A4 With its royal palace of a cabin and ultra-sophisticated road manners, the latest Audi A4 is rather hard to fault. It’s just a bit on the pricey side, perhaps, and is a bit lacking in emotive appeal. Hyundai Tucson Silent, impeccably engineered and really good to drive by SUV standards, the Tucson is another top contender, with little standing between it and the title except perhaps the steep asking price that albeit also applies to most of the top contenders. Opel Astra A firm favourite from the start, Opel’s Astra ticks most boxes, with an added dash of style, and offers a solid range of engines as well as a wide and well-equipped range with well-priced entry derivatives and high-tech range-toppers.
It handled brilliantly on the track, but was a bit rattly on the dirt sections. A very solid all-rounder though. Volkswagen Passat Like its Audi A4 cousin, VW’s Passat just does everything really brilliantly, but its overall vibe is perhaps just a little too vanilla. A true wolf in sheep’s clothing, the Passat’s engine, gearbox and handling were truly sublime – it’s like a GTI in a business suit. Volkswagen Tiguan This may just be the dark horse of this competition. The Volkswagen Tiguan received top marks both on tar and off it, but the average buyer in this growing segment is surely going to appreciate its combination of classy looks inside and out, smooth ride quality and hugely practical interior. It does come at a premium though.
The other finalists were the Honda Civic, Jaguar F-Pace, Renault Kadjar and Toyota Fortuner.