EIGHT CARS, BUT ONLY ONE OUTRIGHT WINNER

+ Click to Enlarge EIGHT CARS IN THE FINALS: These are the eight finalists in the 2010 SAGMJ Car of the Year competition - but it was won by the Volkswagen Golf 6.

March 18, 2010

The winner of the 2010 SA Guild of Motoring Journalists' Car of the Year competition was announced in Johannesburg tonight.

And the winner was... the VW Golf 6 1.4 TSI 90 kW Comfortline.

The Golf's sister car, the made-in-South Africa Polo, was the winner of the 2010 European Car of the Year title.

Professor Martin Winterkorn, board chairman of VW Group, said back then: "The new Polo stands for German engineering craftsmanship and superior cutting edge technology.

"The fifth-generation Polo was designed to address customer expectations with even greater uncompromising standards. That is why we are very pleased to see our efforts validated in the form of this award."

He failed to mention that it was assembled in South Africa, but whatever...

The Golf was one of eight finalists in the competition which were judged over the same roads and the same private tracks at the Gerotek test facility west of Pretoria during which examples of each finalist were assessed independently and under extreme conditions by the jury members.

It was a tough test for the cars over one of the most demanding private facilities in the world.

A static evaluation of each finalist also contributes to the car’s score in terms of aesthetics, build quality and ergonomics, while considerations based on perceptions of value for money, cost of a spares’ basket, safety features and environmental friendliness contribute to overall points.

Here's the full list of finalist, in alphabetical order (story links might not be the precise model)…

Alfa Romeo MiTo 1.4i Turbo petrol
Audi Q5 2.0 T S tronic
Chevrolet Cruze 1.8 LS
Hyundai i20 1.6 GLS
Suzuki Alto 1.0 Litre GLS
Toyota Prius 1.8 ECVT Advanced
VW Golf VI 1.4 TSI 90 kW Comfortline
Volvo XC60 3.0T Geartronic

Learn more about the Car of the Year competition.