Celebrating motoring excellence with a hat trick win, Porsche scooped the title of the 2015 WesBank / SAGMJ Car Of The Year when its Macan S Diesel was announced the winner at a gala dinner hosted by WesBank, the competition’s headline sponsor, at Gallagher Estate in Johannesburg.
The Porsche Macan S Diesel faced stiff competition in the 11-strong finalist line-up that represented the best of the best from a cross-section of segments and price points, making it one of the most hotly contested races in the competition’s 30-year history.
On its road to winning the 2015 WesBank / SAGMJ Car Of The Year title, the Porsche Macan also collected several international awards including SUV category winner at the AJAC’s 2015 Canadian Car Of The Year Awards; the AutoExpress Best Compact SUV; and the Car and Driver Editor’s Choice awards in both the Compact Luxury SUV and Compact Performance SUV categories.
Hailed by motoring journalists from across the globe as one of the best SUVs ever built, the Porsche Macan S Diesel is a compact yet muscular vehicle that received the highest average score from the 28 SA Guild of Motoring Journalists Jury members who were tasked with selecting this year’s winner.
The South African Guild of Motoring Journalists has run the SA Car Of The Year competition since 1986, with WesBank – one of South Africa’s largest vehicle finance institutions – as its headline sponsor since inception. Hollard Insurance and Motul supply support sponsorship.
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The South African competition is based on the European Car Of The Year points-based scoring system, but is unique in the world of motoring in that, before the final votes are cast, each of the finalists is also put through a stringent testing procedure by the peer-elected COTY Jury at the world-renowned Gerotek Vehicle Testing Facility outside Pretoria.
The Jury is allowed 50 votes that may be allocated to all 11 finalists, but to no less than seven, and with no more than 10 points allowed for any one vehicle. All votes are motivated and open to scrutiny.
The winning vehicle is evaluated and scored in relation to its segment competitors. While each vehicle’s final score is determined by assessing aesthetics, dynamics, performance, fuel efficiency, safety, technology, parts pricing and cost of ownership, to name but a few, the overriding criterion to which each vehicle is scored, is overall excellence.
“The SUV market is growing steadily across the globe and South Africa is no exception,” says Bernard Hellberg Jr, COTY Chairman, and Vice-chairman of the SA Guild of Motoring Journalists. “The Macan has proven its dominance of the luxury end of this segment by consistently delivering on the high levels of automotive excellence that the Car Of The Year competition aims to reward.” he concludes.
In recent years, the competition has had many historic moments, as in 2012 when Hyundai Automotive SA won the title for the first time in its history and became the first Korean vehicle brand to win the title. In 2011, the competition caused an even bigger stir when, for the first time in history, the BMW 530d and Volkswagen Polo 1.6 TDI shared the crown. This year, the SA Guild of Motoring Journalists celebrates 30 years of excellence in motoring as we look forward to another 30 years at the cutting edge of motoring excellence.
Previous winners of the WesBank / SAGMJ Car Of The Year competition:
1986 Toyota Corolla Twin Cam
1987 Mercedes-Benz 260E
1988 BMW 735i
1989 Toyota Corolla GLi Executive
1990 BMW 525i
1991 Opel Monza 160 GSi
1992 Nissan Maxima 300 SE
1993 BMW 316i
1994 Opel Kadett 140
1995 Opel Astra 160iS
1996 Audi A4 1.8
1997 BMW 528i
1998 Ford Fiesta Fun
1999 Alfa Romeo 156 T-Spark
2000 Renault Clio 1.4 RT
2001 BMW 320d
2002 Audi A4 1.9 TDI
2003 Volkswagen Polo TDI
2004 Renault Mégane 1.9 dCi
2005 Volvo S40 2.4i
2006 Audi A3 Sportback 2.0T
2007 Honda Civic 1.8 VXi Sedan
2008 Mazda2 1.5 Individual
2009 Honda Accord 2.4 Executive
2010 Volkswagen Golf 6 1.4 TSI
2011 BMW 530d and Volkswagen Polo 1.6 TDI
2012 Hyundai Elantra 1.8 GLS Executive
2013 Porsche Boxster
2014 Porsche Cayman S
2015 Porsche Macan Diesel S
