The judging process saw the Cars.co.za panel of testers (Hannes Oosthuizen, David Taylor, Ciro di Siena, and Ashley Oldfield) researching and debating each of the cars on sale in South Africa, determining their eligibility and all-round ability against the predetermined pillars of success' in each of the award categories. Five cars were selected through rigorous debate and analysis in each category during the first (semi-finalist) stage.
Judges forming part of the external jury were Wendy Knowler, journalist of The Times; Branko Brkic, founder and editor of The Daily Maverick and Songezo Zibi, editor of The Business Day. When selecting the external jury, emphasis was placed on selecting candidates that were not necessarily active in the automotive space. This was done to ensure that alternative viewpoints to that of the Cars.co.za 'petrol head' test team were also incorporated.
Consumers also had a very active part to play in the judging process by means of the Cars.co.za Ownership Satisfaction Survey. The survey, developed together with South African automotive data providers, Lightstone, enabled Cars.co.za to get an accurate view of car ownership in South Africa. Lightstone Consumer ran an extensive online consumer survey, where over 4,000 car owners completed a questionnaire that covers the sales experience; service experience; running costs; comfort and safety; reliability and quality; driving satisfaction and overall experience.
Input from the survey was used by the panel of judges during their evaluations of the finalists. This formed the core of information used in determining the brand of the year, one of the biggest category's on the night, specifically: dealer sales experience; after sales service experience; and overall experience.
There was much more to this awards programme than handing out trophies to the manufacturers and importers - the ultimate goal was to identify the best buys within their respective categories which would better assist consumers in making informed choices.
The big winners on the evening were:
• Budget Car: Renault Sandero Expression
• Compact Car: Ford Focus
• Premium Hatchback: Volkswagen Golf GTI DSG
• First Class: Mercedes Benz S500
• Family Car: Citroen C4 Picasso E-HDI Intensive
• Leisure Car: Land Rover Discovery Sport
• Premium SUV: Volvo XC90 D5 Inscription
• Fun Car: Audi TT 2.0T S Tronic
• Design of the Year: BMW i3
• Game Changer of the Year: BMW i3
• Brand of the Year: Toyota
