MOTORING NEWS - Cars.co.za has announced the 39 finalists for the second Cars.co.za Consumer Awards - powered by WesBank.
The finalists, 3 in each of the 13 categories, were selected from a group of 65 cars that Cars.co.za's editorial teams agreed were the best derivatives available on the South African new vehicle market on 1 Sept 2016.
To reduce the selection of vehicles per category from five to three, the same team ranked the contenders against predetermined pillars of success in each category.
No fewer than 18 brands are represented in the list of finalists and 27 of the final 39 vehicles are produced by German and Japanese marques. The BMW Group, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen lead the nominations with five derivatives apiece, while Toyota South Africa Motors and Jaguar Land Rover SA have four each.
The judges
WesBank, which finances the majority of private vehicle purchases in South Africa, was confirmed as the headline sponsor of the Cars.co.za Consumer Awards in September.
The judges
WesBank, which finances the majority of private vehicle purchases in South Africa, was confirmed as the headline sponsor of the Cars.co.za Consumer Awards in September.
The next phase of the programme will take place in November when a combined panel (the Cars.co.za editors and seven guest judges) will evaluate the finalists back-to-back during a two-day test at Gerotek.
The Cars.co.za judges include: Ashley Oldfield (Road Test/Technical Editor), Ciro de Siena (Manager - Cars.co.za Video), David Taylor (Senior Journalist), Francisco Nwamba (Contributor), Gero Lilleike (Journalist), Hannes Oosthuizen (Consumer Experience Manager), and Mike Fourie (Content Manager).
Guest judges include: Branko Brkic (Founder and Editor - The Daily Maverick), Eddie Kalili (Group Motoring Editor - Destiny, Destiny Man and Sawubona), Juliet McGuire (Editor - Women on Wheels), Khutso Theledi (journalist/presenter/DJ), Kojo Baffoe (journalist/writer/media strategist), Nafisa Akabor (tech journalist and Cars.co.za contributor), and Wendy Knowler (consumer journalist - The Times).
Ownership Satisfaction Survey
However, the findings of the 14 judges will only count for half of the finalists' total scores - the remaining 50% will be based on rankings that the respective vehicles' brands achieved in the Cars.co.za Ownership Satisfaction Survey, in partnership with leading data specialists Lightstone Consumer.
The Cars.co.za judges include: Ashley Oldfield (Road Test/Technical Editor), Ciro de Siena (Manager - Cars.co.za Video), David Taylor (Senior Journalist), Francisco Nwamba (Contributor), Gero Lilleike (Journalist), Hannes Oosthuizen (Consumer Experience Manager), and Mike Fourie (Content Manager).
Guest judges include: Branko Brkic (Founder and Editor - The Daily Maverick), Eddie Kalili (Group Motoring Editor - Destiny, Destiny Man and Sawubona), Juliet McGuire (Editor - Women on Wheels), Khutso Theledi (journalist/presenter/DJ), Kojo Baffoe (journalist/writer/media strategist), Nafisa Akabor (tech journalist and Cars.co.za contributor), and Wendy Knowler (consumer journalist - The Times).
Ownership Satisfaction Survey
However, the findings of the 14 judges will only count for half of the finalists' total scores - the remaining 50% will be based on rankings that the respective vehicles' brands achieved in the Cars.co.za Ownership Satisfaction Survey, in partnership with leading data specialists Lightstone Consumer.
The data incorporates feedback from thousands of vehicle owners, based on their experiences of their vehicles (less than five years old and serviced through franchised outlets).
"We are confident that we have very strong candidates in each category, though they're not always strong for the same reasons. It will be fascinating to see how the judges - our own and the external panel - vote, and what impact the Cars.co.za Ownership Satisfaction Survey's data will have," says Cars.co.za consumer experience manager Hannes Oosthuizen.
"We are confident that we have very strong candidates in each category, though they're not always strong for the same reasons. It will be fascinating to see how the judges - our own and the external panel - vote, and what impact the Cars.co.za Ownership Satisfaction Survey's data will have," says Cars.co.za consumer experience manager Hannes Oosthuizen.
