The 2019 AutoTrader South African Car of the Year competition is underway. Organisers of the event, the South African Guild of Motoring Journalists, have revealed the list of qualifying vehicles.
George Mienie, AutoTrader CEO contends that this will be one of the closest contests ever.
“The list of qualifying cars truly represents automotive excellence, which is what the AutoTrader South African Car of the Year competition is all about. The members of the jury are going to have an extremely tough job on their hands!”
The full list of qualifying vehicles are...
| Manufacturer | Model |
| Alfa Romeo | Stelvio |
| Aston Martin | Vantage |
| Haval | H9 |
| Honda | Amaze, Civic Type R |
| Hyundai | i20, Grand i10, Kona |
| Jaguar | E-Pace |
| Land Rover | Range Rover Velar |
| Lexus | LS, RX-L, ES |
| Maserati | Masarati Levante S |
| Mercedes-Benz | A-Class, X-Class |
| Mitsubishi | Pajero Sport |
| Nissan | Micra |
| Opel | Crossland X,Grandland X |
| Porsche | Cayenne |
| Renault | Duster, Kwid, Megane R.S. |
| Suzuki | Dzire, Jimny, Swift |
| Toyota | Aygo, Yaris |
| Volvo | XC40, XC60 |
The next step in the journey, is the involvement of consumer voting, which starts Friday, 26 October via AutoTraderCOTY.co.za and closes on Monday, 5 November 2018.
It is the first time in the competition’s history that the consumer vote will be included in the process. All consumers voting will be entered into a competition to win one of five R10,000 cash prizes. Winners will be selected via a random draw.
“The consumer ultimately votes with their wallets; their involvement and choice is an important addition to the competition” points out Rubin Van Niekerk, chairman of the South African Guild of Motoring Journalists.
Semi-finalists and finalists will be announced in November with jurors conducting back-to-back testing of the vehicles in March 2019.
The results are expected to be announced shortly thereafter.
