Car of the Year Announced

So the 2011 Wesbank/SAGMJ Car of the Year was announced last night at a black tie event at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand and my did it come as a shock to the wide eyed members of the motoring industry.

For the first time in the competition’s 26 year history two winners were announced as having come out with equal scores at the top of the charts. The BMW 530d and the VW Polo, along with the eight other nominees, went through rigorous testing at the Gerotek test centre just outside Pretoria.

Scoring took place under the newly revamped system adopted this year by the South African Guild of Motoring Journalists whereby each jury member is given 25 points in total to allocate to no more than five of the finalists and no less than three (as is done in Europe).

Much emphasis is placed on judging each vehicle in its specific class as opposed to those other nominees. Clearly the judges took notice this year given the R400,000 difference in price tag between the two winners.

I’ll admit I was rather surprised that the BMW came anywhere near the top of the list.  As I said in my review of the 5 Series, the jury would have to be a bunch of complete mentals to vote this as Car of the Year. Their pay cheques must be somewhat more impressive than mine if they the new 5 is considered good value for money.

The Polo is less surprising. As Nick so elegantly said, most motoring journalists are more stuck in the mud than a reluctant pensioner. Unsurprising then that possibly the most boring car in the top 10 came out trumps.

Mention must be made of the Citroen DS3, a car that has won many an accolade abroad. Sixth place is hardly much for the Frenchies to write home about is it? Although the VW Amarok really whimpered home with its tail between its legs, 81 points behind the winners. Not a great showing for the first ever double cab in the competition – must be even worse than I thought on test.

Anyway, seems there’s a glimmer of hope given the surprise outcome of this year’s event. Maybe next time someone will slip in a few votes for something exotic, a Ferrari perhaps, or if the photos of the new Pagani are anything to go by…who knows what may happen.

Final Results:

1.         BMW 530d                                                                 91 Points
1.         VW Polo 1.6 TDI 77 kW Comfortline                        91 Points
3.         Ford Figo 1.4 Ambiente                                              77 Points
4.         Hyundai Sonata 2.4 GLS Exec                                   76 Points
5.         Kia Sportage 2.0 VGT AWD AT                                63 Points
6.         Citroen DS3 THP 150 Sport                                       59 Points
7.         Hyundai ix35 2.0 CRDI GLS AWD AT                     48 Points
8.         Opel Astra 1.4T Enjoy Plus                                        39 Points
9.         Honda CR-Z 1.5i V-Tec                                             21 Points
10.       VW Amarok 2.0 BiTDI 4×2 Double Cab                   10 Points

Miles Downard
Photo Credit: Quickpic