08 March 2011 BMW’s 530d and Volkswagen’s Polo 1.6 TDI Share Top Spot at Revamped Car of the Year Competition
 
 
South Africa’s most prestigious event, the WesBank / South African Guild of Motoring Journalists Car of the Year competition was given a substantial update and refreshed for 2011.
 
And almost as if going along perfectly to a script of change, the more modern and completely transparent European Car of the Year (COTY) based scoring system, produced a tie for the first time in the competition’s 26 year history, with both BMW’s 530d and Volkswagen’s Polo 1.6 TDI scoring the exact same number of points and sharing top spot this year.
 
This historic announcement was made by the South African Guild of Motoring Journalists (SAGMJ) at a WesBank sponsored gala banquet, attended by the who’s who of the South African motoring industry, at Gallagher Convention Centre, Midrand, on Tuesday 8 March.
 
As in the past the announcement of the winner still only comes after a stringent process of voting and physical testing of eligible cars, leisure vehicles, which now includes double cab bakkies that were launched locally into the SA market during the past year.
 
All the testing took place at the world renowned Gerotek vehicle test facility outside Pretoria once again, thus keeping the South African COTY competition unique because of the extensive evaluation opportunity given to the country’s top full time motoring journalists, which make up the COTY Jury, before these same judges can allocate their points to the finalists.
 
But the big difference this year though was that instead of making use of a complex and undisclosed judging and scoring system, the SAGMJ Jury members were 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.
 
With all the scores and the judge’s comments being open for scrutiny from the moment the winners were announced, and with no more than ten points at a time being allowed to be allocated to any one vehicle by a judge, it was always going to be a close race, and the final audited scores showed this to be the case.
 
The WesBank / SAGMJ COTY competition is about automotive excellence and the winning vehicle must score highly in its own class, not against each other as is often thought, across a variety of categories including those which reflect value for money, safety, dynamics, technology and aesthetics to name but a few.
 
And this year’s competition winners have proved just that, as both vehicles, although separated by more than R400 000 in sticker price, were clearly well ahead of their peers in their already mentioned relevant classes, and ultimately could not be separated by a single point at the end of a long and thorough process.
 
Final Result
 

1. BMW 530d 91 Points
   

1. VW Polo 1.6 TDI 77 kW Comfortline 91 Points
   

1. Ford Figo 1.4 Ambiente 77 Points
   
2. Hyundai Sonata 2.4 GLS Exec 76 Points
   
3. Kia Sportage 2.0 VGT AWD AT 63 Points
   
4. Citroen DS3 THP 150 Sport 59 Points
   
5. Hyundai ix35 2.0 CRDI GLS AWD AT 48 Points
   
6. Opel Astra 1.4T Enjoy Plus 39 Points
   
7. Honda CR-Z 1.5i V-Tec 21 Points
   
8. VW Amarok 2.0 BiTDI 4x2 Double Cab 10 Points
   

 
The COTY competition is sponsored by WesBank, with support sponsorship from Total South Africa and Hollard Insurance.
 
Notes to editors:

• The SAGMJ has run the South African Car of the Year competition since 1986
  
• WesBank has sponsored the competition since inception
  
• Previous winners:
  

 
1986 Toyota Corolla Twin Cam 1987 Mercedes Benz 260
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 VW Polo TDI
2004 Renault Megane 1.9 dCi 2005 Volvo S40 2.4i
2006 Audi A3 Sportback 2.0T 2007 Honda Civic 1.8VXi Sedan
2008 Mazda2 1.5 Individual 2009 Honda Accord 2.4 Executive
2010 VW Golf 6 1.4 TSI