Thought it was said to have been one of the toughest contests in the history of the WesBank South African Guild of Motoring Journalist (SAGMJ) Car of the Year completion, however when the dust settled on festivities this Thursday at Midrand’s Gallagher Estate, glory seemed to come easy for the makers of the German sports car, Porsche.

As they stood to receive the annual prize, this time for the Porsche Macan S Diesel, the company was marking the notch for the third time in row for their brand. Last year they won it with the Cayman S while the Boxster took the glory in 2013.

Macan S Diesel rose above 11 finalists selected to compete for the prize. They included favourites like the Audi A3 Sedan 1.4 FSI SE S Tronic; Mercedes-Benz C200 AT and Citroen C4 Picasso e-HDi  115 Intensive. (See the complete list below)

Macan S has been lauded as a long the fast car makers long awaited answer for the growing compact SUV segment. “It’s a Porsche through and through” has been the market mantra used to propel it into the hearts of diehard fans and half hearted enthusiasts alike. It looks to complement the Cayenne in a growing taste and market segment. Macan S mixes light 4wd capabilities with the performance expectations of a Porsche.

The honour of being selected car of the year follows a gruelling process that sees 11 finalists subjected to a variety of tests and evaluations by a panel of 28 judges at Gerotek test facility. The judges vote for the winner. They are each given 50 points to divide between at least seven vehicles. They are not allowed to allocate more than 10 points to any one vehicle.

Because there might be questions of transparency arising from the process by car lovers and other stake holders, the SAGMJ has pledged to make the judge’s votes public.

The 2015 WesBank SAGMJ Car of The Year Finalists:

  1. Audi A3 Sedan 1.4 FSI SE S Tronic
  2. BMW M4 Coupe AT
  3. Citroën C4 Picasso e-HDi  115 Intensive
  4. Honda Accord 3.5 V6 Exclusive
  5. Lexus ES 250 EX
  6. Mercedes-Benz C200 AT
  7. Nissan Qashqai 1.6 dCi Acenta AT
  8. Porsche Macan S Diesel
  9. Renault duster 1.5dCi Dynamique AWD
  10. Subaru WRX Premium
  11. Toyota Corolla 1.4 D-4D Prestige

Percy Mabunda 

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