Porsche wins COTY for a 4th time!
Porsche stole the show yet again at the 2018 WesBank South African Car of The Year awards after the Panamera surpassed the other finalists to secure the first-place spot, sharing the podium with the Volvo S90 in second place, followed by the Alfa Romeo Giulia in third place.
Members of the automotive community attended the event that took place on Tuesday night in Midrand, Johannesburg, where the winner was announced after an intensive scoring procedure that was endured by a jury of 24 individuals, each selected by the South African Guild of Motoring Journalists.
These were the COTY finalists in 2018:
Alfa Romeo Giulia
Audi Q5
BMW 5 Series
Kia Picanto
Land Rover Discovery
Peugeot 3008
Porsche Panamera
Suzuki Ignis
Toyota C-HR
Volvo S90
The judging process began in January when the jury spent time putting the finalists through various tests and challenges. Each finalist was judged and scored in the following categories:
Affordability
Cabin Styling, Layout, and Ergonomics
Engine Performance and Technology
Engineering Integrity and Build Quality
Exterior Design
Overall Excellence
Ride Quality
Steering and Handling
New Technology
Transmission Performance
Value for Money
The 2018 victory will be the fourth for Porsche, who celebrated wins in 2013, 2014 and 2015 for the Porsche Boxster, Porsche Cayman S and Porsche Macan respectively. This has been quite a controversial topic regarding the COTY competition, and this year’s result is unlikely to yield a different result.
There is also usually controversy brought about by the misconception that finalist cars are compared with each other, for example, the Suzuki Ignis being compared to the Volvo S90. This is not the case, as each model is compared to competitors within its appropriate segment.
Irrespective, the Porsche win will get a lot of ‘hate’ from the public, but at the end of the day, the competition is here to celebrate innovation and progression in the automotive industry, which is exactly what the Panamera embodies.
