On Thursday, 24 January the fourth iteration of Cars.co.za Consumer Awards powered by Wesbank were hosted the Cars Consumer Awards at a star studded, red carpet gala event at Kyalami, Midrand. The Cars.co.za Consumer Awards powered by WesBank provides a trusted voice for consumers to consider when making that all-important car buying decision. The judging process takes place in two parts – a panel of judges (comprising motoring media, consumer journalists and influencers) and the South African motoring public – thus affording the competition its Consumer Awards’ name.
There were 13 car categories which various car brands competed in. The categories ranged from budget cars to performance cars. Some car brands were on a serious winning streak. Volkswagen South Africa was the most awarded car brand at the event, winning 4 out of the 7 awards that they were nominated for. Whilst a few brands took the audience by surprise like the Honda Type R winning the Hot Hatch category beating the BMW M140i 5-door sports and Renault Megane RS Lux. The award was Honda’s first Cars Consumer Award.
Business Class Category – Arteon. L – R: Presenter Lalla Hirayama, Martina Biena: Head of the Volkswagen Brand, Siyanga Madikizela: Volkswagen PR Manager and host Pearl Modiadie.
There was no winner in the Performance Car category as the competition was too tight. The nominees included the Audi TT, BMW M2 Competition and Porsche Cayman S Automatic.
The big winner on the evening was Toyota, winning the prestigious Brand of the Year award. Toyota had a very successful 2018 with a 10-year high market share of 24.2%.
Below are the all the winners of the Cars.co.za Consumer Awards powered by Wesbank:
- Budget Car – Suzuki Swift 1.2 GL
- Compact hatchback – Volkswagen Polo 1.0TSI Comfortline Auto
- Premium Compact – Mercedes-Benz A200 AMG Line
- Executive SUV – Volvo XC60 D5 R-Design
- Business Class – VW Arteon 2.0TSI 4Motion R-Line
- Executive Sedan – Mercedes-Benz E220d Avantgarde
- Compact Family Car – Nissan Qashqai 1.2 Acenta Auto
- Family Car – Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace 1.4 TSI Trendline
- Leisure Double Cab Bakkie – Volkswagen Amarok 3.0 V6 TDI 4Motion Highline Plus
- Adventure SUV – Toyota Fortuner 2.8 GD-6 4×4 Auto
- Premium SUV – Range Rover Velar D300 R-Dynamic SE
- Hot Hatch – Honda Civic Type R
