The choice is yours: decide winner of the people’s award

With the top 10 finalists for this year’s AA Driven New Zealand Car of the Year unveiled, it’s time for readers to have their say on which model is most deserving of celebration.

The People’s Choice Award is back for 2019, with online voting open at the AA New Zealand website. Motoring supremacy isn’t the only prize up for grabs, either.

Each voter who locks in a favourite before November 30 goes into a draw to win an eight-night Fiji cruise for two.

Our healthy mix of finalists spans premium sedans such as the BMW 3-Series and Peugeot 508, hatchbacks including the Mazda3 and Ford Focus, and an SUV contingent consisting of the Toyota RAV4 and Holden Acadia.

Rounding out the 10 are two performance cars (the Toyota GR Supra and Renault Megane RS) and two electric cars (the Tesla Model 3 and Jaguar I-Pace).

AA Motoring Services general Manager Stella Stocks said: “The People’s Choice Award gives motorists the opportunity to get involved and voice their opinions. It’s also a great way for manufacturers to hear direct from their customers what they appreciate in a car.

“More than 53,000 Kiwis cast a vote last year. With a wide variety of vehicles in contention this year, we’re anticipating Kiwis will again want to share their opinion of which vehicle they think is best.”

Last year’s People’s Choice Award winner was the Suzuki Swift Sport. All-new for 2018, it made the most of a sharp new platform and punchy turbocharged 1.4-litre engine borrowed from its much larger cousin — the Vitara.

“Suzuki deserves praise for raising the bar by delivering a well-balanced compromise between driving fun and everyday practicality with its Swift Sport,” said chief judge and Driven editor at large Liz Dobson at the time. “Packed with a well thought-out features list and agile enough to please, it takes the sporting argument to potential competitors a step above it in price.”

To vote on the People’s Choice award, visit aa.co.nz/peopleschoice..