An eventful year has passed and it’s now time for you to choose your favourites of 2011 for CAR’s Top 12 Best Buys, brought to you in association with FNB Vehicle Finance.
CAR’s 2012 instalment of our annual Top 12 best buys will be the 13th time we’ve rounded up all of the major players in the local automotive sphere to see who tops their respective segments.
The CAR team’s overall selections will be unveiled in the March 2012 issue, but right now we’re looking to you – our readers – to provide us with YOUR choices for each of the 12 segments in our on-line poll.
At the end of the survey, we'll draw three random names from the list of respondents, and the following fantastic prizes will be be awarded to the respective winners in the order that their names are drawn:
First name drawn wins: Ninco digital slot car racing set worth R4 500
Race up to eight cars on a two lane circuit, overtake your opponents and adapt any car to digital with the easy-to-install decoder chip. The starter set includes 2 Lamborghini Gallardos, an N’Digital console, transformer and 2 controllers with a 7,8 m two lane track.
Second name drawn wins: Gedore Motorist’s toolkit worth over R2 400
The ideal travelling companion, this compact kit is small enough to be safely stowed under a seat for easy access at all times. The robust canvas bag contains spanners, screwdrivers, sockets, an adjustable wrench, a ratchet and universal pliers. To assist with the more common problems associated with road trips, there is also a tow rope, torch, tape measure, multi-tool, pen and note pad.
Third name drawn wins: TomTom Via Live 120 GPS system worth R1 999
A TomTom Via Live 120 GPS system worth R1 999 is up for grabs – featuring a large colour touch-screen interface, voice-activation option, continuous traffic-monitoring service and fixed speed camera alerts.
To jog your memory, here are the segments and their respective winners and runners-up from last year’s Top 12 best buys:
BEST BUDGET CAR (under R120k): Ford Figo 1,4 Ambiente
Runners-up: VW Polo Vivo Hatch 1,4 3-dr, Citroen C1 1,0i Attraction/Peugeot 107 Urban.
BEST LIGHT CAR: Honda Jazz.
Runners-up: VW Polo, Ford Fiesta and Mazda2.
BEST COMPACT CAR: Audi A3/A3 Sportback.
Runners-up: Opel Astra, Renault Megane, VW Golf.
BEST COMPACT EXECUTIVE: Mercedes-Benz C-Class.
Runners-up: Audi A4, BMW 3 Series.
BEST EXECUTIVE SALOON: BMW 5 Series.
Runners up: Jaguar XF, Mercedes-Benz E-Class.
BEST GRAND SALOON: Porsche Panamera.
Runners-up: BMW 7 Series, Mercedes-Benz S-Class.
BEST HOT HATCH: Renault Megane RS250/Cup.
Runners-up: VW Golf GTI, Audi S3.
BEST SPORTS/PERFORMANCE CAR: Porsche 911.
Runners-up: Porsche Boxster and Cayman R, Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG.
BEST MPV/SW: Renault Scenic/Grand Scenic.
Runners-up: Nissan Livina/Grand Livina, VW Touran.
BEST COMPACT SUV/CROSSOVER: Nissan Qashqai.
Runners-up: Honda CR-V, Renault Koleos.
BEST SUV: Land Rover Discovery 4.
Runners-up: Mercedes-Benz ML-Class, Porsche Cayenne, Toyota Fortuner.
BEST DOUBLE-CAB/PICK-UP: Toyota Hilux.
Runners-up: Nissan Navara, VW Amarok, Isuzu KB.
