Nod to SA's top pre-owned vehicles

Photo: kia.co.za

Prior to announcing the winners, let us shed some light on how the competition works and essentially how we arrived at the winners of each category.

With such a significant number of used car models out there, it was always going to be crucial to find a starting point, as gathering data of all of the models available on the used car market would be an arduous task to tackle without the expertise of a vehicle data provider.

So, this is where the auspices of vehicle data provider TransUnion, which gives definitive data on the used car market, was commissioned.

The criteria was to seek the bestselling or performing preowned vehicles on the used car market as the barometer.

It is a well known phenomenon that supply and demand usually sets the price and therefore the cars with the strongest value retention are either those in high demand or those sold in limited quantities such as high-end performance limited edition variants.

Then we had to determine how old these vehicles should be. According to the data captured, the highest percentage of vehicles sold is two-year-old vehicles. Thus the models chosen need not be more than three years old, as most still had the balance of the service and maintenance plan still in place.

We then created categories and TransUnion sourced the data from the bestselling preowned vehicles per category. Each category was then whittled down to about 20 vehicles.

TransUnion then supplied judges with the following information on each model, the retained percentage of retail value of the vehicle's new list price in the registered year and the value depreciation percentage in the past 12 months.

To narrow it down to the top five in each category, the figures were analysed based on the best performing vehicles in their respective segment. So, in essence, the finalists were deemed the best-selling preowned vehicles with the highest residual value within their respective segment. To this end, the vehicles were chosen solely on data supplied by TransUnion, so no emotional or biased opinions could influence the votes.

From hereon the scoring by the panel of judges, which includes some highly experienced motoring media and other motoring experts, took place. The top five vehicles from each category were put through their paces on a road test by the convenor of the competition.

Information and pictures from the road tests were then sent out to the judging panel to judge aspects such as overall value for money; look and feel - quality and degradation of exterior and interior materials; standard equipment; safety features; performance (engine); drivetrain; braking; ride quality; warranty and maintenance plans. Out of maintenance risk; parts basket; mechanical reliability history and perception; desirability and affordability were also taken into consideration.

All the above considered, it was down to analysing each vehicle based on the above information and the condition of the vehicle based on pictures supplied. Granted, this might not be the ideal way, but considering that most of these vehicles had to be sourced from as far afield as other provinces, it meant it would have been a logistical nightmare for all vehicles to be convened in one venue.

That said it was down to work analysing each vehicle, thinking back to when the vehicle was launched and taking into consideration the physical wear and tear the vehicles endured. Most of the vehicles here seemed to have held up well over the past two years, some looking even decidedly new.
Following the voting process by the judges and auditing of the scores, the following vehicles emerged winners in their respective segments.

In the Budget City, the Kia Picanto won both the overall and People's Choice categories. Medium Hatch went to the Volkswagen Golf 1.4 TSI Trendline. The Crossover winner was the Mazda CX-3 Individual.

SUV under R350,000 went to the Toyota Rav 4 2.0 GX while the Toyota Fortuner 2.5 D-4D RB took the People's Choice award in the category.

Luxury Saloons under R475,000 was won by the Mercedes-Benz C220 Bluetec and the Audi A5 Sportback 2.0 TFSI won the People's Choice award. The Double Cab Bakkies award went to the Ford Ranger 3.2 TDCi XLT, while the SUV under R700,000 went to the Mercedes-Benz GLC 250d with the Audi Q7 3.0 TDI winning the People's Choice award.

The Performance Hatch winner was the Volkswagen Golf 7 R 2.0 TSI, while the MercedesAMG 45 won the People's Choice award in the category.

The Performance Saloon and Sportscar winner was the BMW M4 while the MercedesAMG C63 S won the People's Choice category.

While it might be difficult to measure the overall success, the Gumtree Pre-Owned Vehicle awards are certainly relevant in the current economic climate where buyers are either buying down a segment or are looking for a well-sorted, pre-owned vehicle. It could well be a worthy guide on which cars to consider should you be in the market for a pre-owned vehicle.