JOHANNESBURG - The 2020 AutoTrader South African Car of the Year competition is revving up and rearing for the final showdown, with the organisers having announced the 14 finalists that will go head-to-head early next year.
The finalists form part of seven categories, within which they also stand to win, and these are: Urban, Family, Leisure, Lifestyle, Premium Car, Premium SUV and Sport/Performance.
The 14 cars will be put through their paces on public roads and a race track in March next year by a jury of 27 automotive writers selected by the South African Guild of Motoring Journalists (SAGMJ), while the category and overall winners will be announced a month later.
Without further ado, these are the finalists for the 2020 COTY competition, listed in alphabetical order:
BMW 3 Series
BMW X5
Citroen C3 Aircross
Ford Ranger Raptor
Hyundai Atos
Jaguar I-Pace
Mazda3
Mercedes-Benz GLE
Peugeot 5008
Suzuki Swift Sport
Toyota Corolla Hatch
Toyota Rav4
Toyota GR Supra
Volkswagen T-Cross
The finalists were voted for by the COTY jury, and this followed a semi-finalist voting round in which all SAGMJ members voted, as well as members of the public.
This year’s competition is not short of variety, featuring everything from an electric car to a quirky French crossover and even a bush-conquering bakkie in the form of Ford’s Ranger Raptor. Toyota has launched some exciting new products this year and this is reflected in the fact that the brand has three finalists, which is another COTY first.
It’s worth noting, however, that even though there will be a single overall winner, the 14 cars will not be judged directly against each other as jurors are urged to rate each vehicle against its natural competitors, which the journalists would have had access to during the course of their careers.
AutoTraderCEO, George Mienie noted that members of the public would like to see the Mazda3 take top honours.
“It triumphed in the consumer vote, where we had hundreds of thousands of votes. The consumer votes act as the 28th Juror in the competition. Mazda’s last win was back in 2008, with the Mazda2 1.5 Individual – so it will be interesting to see if this Japanese company can take top honours,” Mienie added.