Motoring

Here are South Africa’s best cars across 13 major categories

Staff Writer

 ·19 Jan 2017

Car advertising website, Cars.co.za has announced a list of 13 winning cars across a range of categories in its second annual consumer awards in conjunction with WesBank.

The winning vehicles were announced at an event held at Vodaworld in Midrand, on Thursday evening.

The group initially announced 39 finalists – 3 in each of the 13 respective categories –  in October 2016.

The finalists were selected from a group of 65 cars that the seven members of the Cars.co.za editorial team agreed were the best derivatives available in the South African new vehicle market on 1 September 2016.

To reduce the selection of vehicles per category from five to three, the same team ranked the contenders against predetermined pillars of success.

As many as 18 brands were represented in the list of finalists.

In November, a combined judging panel evaluated the finalists back-to-back during a two-day testing session at Gerotek.

The findings of the 14 judges accounted for half of the finalists’ total scores – the remaining 50% were based on rankings that the respective vehicles’ brands achieved in the Cars.co.za Ownership Satisfaction Survey.

The data incorporated feedback from tens of thousands of vehicle owners, based on their experiences of their vehicles, Cars.co.za said.

These are the winning vehicles:

Premium hatchback – between R350 000 and R500 000

• BMW 120i M Sport sports-auto
• VW Golf GTI DSG
• Mercedes-Benz A220d Style

Winner: VW Golf GTI DSG

First class – more than R1 000 000

• Mercedes-Benz S500e LWB
• BMW 750Li Design Pure Excellence
• Range Rover SDV8 Autobiography LWB

Winner: BMW 750Li Design Pure Excellence

Leisure double cab – more than R450 000

• Ford Ranger 3.2 Wildtrak 4×4 Auto
• Toyota Hilux 2.8 GD-6 4×4 Raider Auto
• VW Amarok 2.0 BiTDI 4Motion Highline Auto

Winner: Ford Ranger 3.2 Wildtrak 4×4 Auto

Executive sedan – between R750 000 and R1 000 000

• Jaguar XF 25t Portfolio
• Lexus GS350 F-Sport
• Mercedes-Benz E220d Avantgarde

Winner: Jaguar XF 25t Portfolio

Business class – between R500 000 and R750 000

• Audi A4 2.0T FSI Sport S-tronic
• BMW 330d M Sport sports-auto
• Mercedes-Benz C250 AMG Line

Winner: Audi A4 2.0T FSI Sport S-tronic

Premium SUV – between R750 000 and R1 200 000

• Audi Q7 3.0 TDI Quattro
• Jaguar F-PACE 30d R-Sport
• Volvo XC90 T8 Twin Engine Inscription

Winner: Volvo XC90 T8 Twin Engine Inscription

Compact family car – between R250 000 and R350 000

• Nissan Qashqai 1.2 Visia
• Renault Captur dCi 90 Dynamique
• Suzuki Vitara 1.6 GL+

Winner: Suzuki Vitara 1.6 GL+

Fun car – less than R600 000

• Mazda MX-5
• Mini JCW auto
• VW Golf GTI Clubsport

Winner: W Golf GTI Clubsport

Lifestyle SUV – between R500 000 and R750 000

• Ford Everest 3.2 LTD
• Toyota Fortuner 2.8 GD-6 4×4 Auto
• Land Rover Discovery Sport TD4 SE

Winner: Land Rover Discovery Sport TD4 SE

Compact hatchback – between R160 000 and R250 000

• Honda Jazz 1.2 Comfort
• Opel Corsa 1.0T Enjoy
• Volkswagen Polo 1.2 TSI Comfortline

Winner: Opel Corsa 1.0T Enjoy

Budget car – less than R160 000

• Suzuki Celerio 1.0 GL
• Renault Sandero Expression
• Toyota Aygo X-Play

Winner: Suzuki Celerio 1.0 GL

Performance car – between R600 000 and R1 000 000

• BMW M2 M-DCT
• Mercedes-AMG A45 4MATIC
• Ford Focus RS

Winner: BMW M2 M-DCT

Family car – between R350 000 and R500 000

• Hyundai Tucson 2.0 NU Elite Auto
• Nissan X-Trail 2.5 SE CVT AWD
• Volkswagen Tiguan 1.4 TSI Comfortline DSG

Winner: Volkswagen Tiguan 1.4 TSI Comfortline DSG

Read: These are the best cars in South Africa – according to affordability