It’s time for the big vehicles in the Top 12 Best Buys competition. The Renault Espace took the chequered flag last year. Can it hold on to the top position or will Volkswagen, Chrysler or Kia push for the MPV title?
It’s time for the big vehicles in the Top 12 Best Buys competition. The Renault Espace took the chequered flag last year. Can it hold on to the top position or will Volkswagen, Chrysler or Kia push for the MPV title?
The CAR editors rated the Espace very highly last year. “This slinky French monovolume has an outstanding range of MPV-specific features and versatility. Ride is, in Gallic tradition, superbly comfortable, and a major (advantage) is the Espace’s second-to-none crash test showing,” said the editors in their explanation.
The Toyota Condor and VW Microbus were the runners-up.
The Espace could get tough competition from South Africa’s top-selling MPV the Chrysler Voyager. It is relaxing to drive and has good load versatility. There is also the VW Sharan that offers excellent dynamics and the Kia Carnival, a good combination of car-like handling with minibus space.
Voting continues in the other categories. In the compact MPV section, the PT Cruiser is moving in top speed with 35 per cent of the votes, just one per cent behind the Renault Scénic. The Scénic dominated early voting in this category.
There have been some changes in the grand saloon and station wagon sections of the competition. In grand saloons, the Lexus LS430 has 28 per cent of the votes, overtaking the Mercedes-Benz S-Class on 26 per cent. While in the estate category, the Mercedes-Benz C-Class is no longer dominating. It is neck-and-neck with the Volvo V70 on 26 per cent.
The Toyota Tazz, BMW 3-Series, M3 and Lexus GS300, still lead the best budget, medium, sports, executive cars categories respectively.
To vote, click here. Remember, you must correctly predict the winners in each category as picked by the CAR editors – and motivate your choices – to stand a chance of winning great Camel brand prizes.
