The best car in South Africa 2024 – including budget, bakkies, premium and more

The South African Guild of Mobility Journalists (SAGMJ) has announced the winners of the 2024 Car of the Year competition.

This year, 80 vehicles were presented to the judging committee, which was later reduced to 25 semi-finalists in eight different categories.

Only 18 finalists were selected from the 25 semi-finalists, out of which 10 were eliminated, leaving us with the winners in each category.

The eight categories were Budget/Compact, Compact Family, Family, Premium, Adventure SUV, 4×4 Double Cab, Luxury, and Performance.

It’s noteworthy that in 2024, the SAGMJ has decided to eliminate the “New Energy Vehicle” category due to the significant surge in electric and hybrid car adoption.

This means that these models will now be competing in their intended segments against traditional petrol and diesel vehicles.

The evaluation process for each vehicle involves a thorough assessment and scoring by a jury. In addition, Lightstone Auto provides valuable data-driven insights into each car’s popularity with customers.

This data is then used by the committee to determine a model’s market relevance, including its volume and sales share while comparing it to its direct competitors.

Overall, this approach ensures that the best-performing vehicles are recognized and rewarded, taking into account their popularity with customers and their competitiveness in the market.

Having undergone this lengthy process, the SAGMJ announced the overall winners of the 2024 COTY awards:

• 2024 COTY Winner – BMW 7 Series
• 2024 COTY 2nd place – Suzuki Fronx
• 2024 COTY 3rd place – BMW M2

In their respective categories, the 7 Series won the Luxury award, while the Fronx and M2 secured the Budget and Performance titles, respectively.

Overall, it has been a fantastic year for BMW, with the X1 winning three out of the eight awards and the last one in the Family segment.

The Toyota Urban Cruiser managed to beat two rivals and won the Compact Family category, while the Mercedes-Benz GLC was awarded the Premium title.

An interesting entry in this year’s competition was the VW Amarok, which won the 4×4 Double Cab category by default as it was the only entry in that segment.

It’s worth noting that the Ford Ranger Raptor, despite being a highly anticipated vehicle, was not allowed to compete in the Double Cab category as it is essentially a variation of an existing model.

Moreover, the Ranger had already won the COTY award in 2023.

However, the Raptor made it to the finals in the Performance category thanks to its twin-turbo V6 petrol engine. Unfortunately, it did not win and the award went to the M2 instead.

The Mahindra Scorpio-N won the Adventure SUV segment and earned the Motor Enthusiast’s Choice award, which was determined through a public vote on social media.

Lastly, the BMW 7 Series received the COTY Juror’s Excellence Award, which recognizes the jurors’ admiration for its exceptional driving experience, vehicle quality, and craftsmanship based on their input scores.

BMW has won the 38th COTY competition and has set a new record for the most wins overall, having previously won in 1988, 1990, 1993, 1997, 2001, and 2011.

Mabuyane Mabuza, the chairperson of the SAGMJ and the 2024 Car of the Year (COTY) competition, congratulated both the winners and all the competitors.

She expressed her delight in seeing the automotive industry’s commitment to providing modern buyers with high-quality, technologically advanced products in all categories to meet their mobility needs.

“The winners in all eight categories highlight the fierce competition in the industry and the manufacturers’ commitment to producing exceptional products in all price ranges, particularly in the current automotive market following COVID-19,” said Charles Nortje, Managing Director of Old Mutual Insure, one of the main sponsors of the competition.

These are the official winners of the 2024 SAGMJ COTY competition.

Budget/Compact – Suzuki Fronx

• Starting price – R297,900

Compact Family – Toyota Urban Cruiser

• Starting price – R342,500

Family – BMW X1

• Starting price – R788,899

Premium – Mercedes-Benz GLC

• Starting price – R1,265,619

Adventure SUV – Mahindra Scorpio-N

• Starting price – R477,199

4×4 Double Cab – VW Amarok

• Starting price – R721,800

Luxury – BMW 7 Series

• Starting price – R2,284,104

Performance – BMW M2

• Starting price – R1,505,988

Read: The cars you can afford on the average salary in South Africa right now