By: Denis Droppa, Motoring Editor
Johannesburg - Every December this publication selects its favourite vehicles from the many launched during the year – and there was truly a plethora of them in 2014 with over 60 all-new model ranges along with numerous facelifts to existing line-ups.
For our relatively small market size of around 650 000 new-vehicle sales a year (compared to the USA which sells 15.6 million) South African car buyers are offered a startlingly wide choice as you can see by the massive array of cars featured in our price guide. After attending dozens of local and international new-vehicle introductions and writing about them in these pages, our team of motoring journalists has sifted through all the new cars, bakkies, SUVs, and crossovers we’ve driven this year and voted on an overall winner for 2014:
OVERALL WINNER
Mercedes-Benz C-Class.
To us Mercedes’ new midsized sedan (it also recently became available as an estate) was an obvious victor due to the way it’s raised the bar in the junior-executive car segment. This is a game-changer that takes quality and refinement against competitors to a new level. It essentially feels like a baby S-Class with its waftingly comfortable ride quality, high levels of luxury, and stately nature.
The rich tactile feel of the cabin rivals larger and more expensive luxury cars, and the attention to detail goes right down to a Karl Benz signature on the windscreen.
Available with regular or even more comfortable air suspension as an option, the C-Class offers a range of high-tech safety features. If you’re prepared to tick the long list of extra-cost boxes the new C-Class has inherited a lot of safety tech from the gadget-laden S-Class including the ability to automatically keep a safe following distance, stay in its lane, park itself, and slam on the brakes when pedestrians wander into the road.
Agility Select provides a driving mode for every mood, and at the press of a button drivers can choose from one of five programmes that adjust the steering, throttle and gearshifts from mild-mannered to sporty.
Built right here at Mercedes’ East London plant for the local and export markets, it’s a roomy car too, and having swelled by 95mm in length and 40mm in width it’s actually larger than the 1995 E-Class. But with half the body made of aluminium the new car is around 100kg lighter than its predecessor.
AND THE CATEGORY WINNERS ARE...
European carmakers clean up in our class winners’ segment
BEST SMALL/BUDGET CAR
Renault Sandero
The new Sandero ups the game in this segment in a few key areas – active safety features, interior tactile quality and modern turbo engine tech offering good performance and efficiency, albeit with some turbo lag. Despite all this, it still comes along at a rock-bottom price.
BEST COMPACT/MIDSIZE CAR
Audi A3 Sedan
Audi’s latest A3 is a showcase of the brand’s impeccable attention to detail, which now appeals to a wider customer base with a slick new booted body guise. A near perfect balance of style, space and quality, with an ultra-modern range of powerplants to choose from.
BEST PERFORMANCE CAR
BMW M4/M3
Our team is divided in opinion about the sound the turbocharged straight-six engine makes – some love it and others are a little hard of hearing – but there’s no discord about the car’s performance and handling.
Power delivery from the new 3-litre biturbo petrol engine is literally breathtaking, and grip levels, both mechanically and electronically aided, are almost supernatural ... that is, when kept out of wheel-spinning show-off mode.
BEST LUXURY CAR
Mercedes S-Class
The all-new S-Class lives up to its reputation as a technological masterpiece, and in our opinions also lives up to its “best car in the world” tagline. Dripping with safety and comfort innovations, this is the kind of car you look forward to spending time in. Whether sitting at the helm or kicking up feet at the back, Merc’s flagship oozes sheer opulence and quality, and it’s for this reason it gets our nod as best luxury car.
BEST ADVENTURE VEHICLE
Porsche Macan
Porsche has managed to engineer characteristic Porsche performance and agility into a high-riding SUV, but the inclusion of features like adjustable hill descent control, an offroad button, and optional lift-able air suspension makes this quite the capable bushwacker as well.
Apparently you can have the best of both worlds. Unlike the Cayenne, you can actually look at it without gagging.
BEST DESIGN
Alfa Romeo 4C
Alfa’s mid-engined sportscar shows curves that Kim Kardashian could only dream about; it’s an Italian supermodel in every sense of the word, showing both sex appeal and elegance in its penmanship. Here’s a car that you’d want to park in your lounge rather your garage; it elicits fox whistles from bystanders and epitomises the design principle of looking like it’s moving when standing still.
Star Motoring