Herman le Roux of Brakpan will have to make more room in his garage after winning about R17 000 worth of Makita products in CAR magazine and CARtoday.com’s annual top 12 competition.
Herman le Roux of Brakpan will have to make more room in his garage after winning about R17 000 worth of Makita products in CAR magazine and CARtoday.com’s annual top 12 competition.
Luckily, he’s a self-confessed DIY fan, and intends putting the tools to good use. He may just have to move the car out to make sure there is enough place for a 9,6V cordless drill with extra battery and charger in a carry case, 115 mm angle grinder, 375 mm x 457 mm belt sander, circular saw, two-speed impact drill, vari-speed jigsaw, blower with dustbag, 125 mm orbital sander, sander polisher, planer and 1/3 sheet sander.
As was the case last year, not one entrant correctly predicted all the CAR editors’ choices in all the categories. Le Roux was the randomly selected winner from the group that came the closest.
Le Roux, who owns a butchery in Brakpan, said it wasn’t that hard to choose the cars and he went with logical choices. “I looked at the overall package and value for money. Some of the cars, like the Toyota Tazz in the budget cars section, were market leaders and bound to win. For other categories I just thought about what I had read about those cars,” he said.
“I love cars. I drive everyone at work mad because I’m always talking about cars,” he said. Le Roux’s selection of the VW Golf/Jetta in the sub-compact section was slightly personal; he drives a Golf IV and plans to buy the Golf V when it arrives here. “But my two favourite cars are the BMW M3 and the Mercedes-Benz E-Class,” he said.
Le Roux wasn’t the only lucky car fanatic. There were also 12 category winners, who each won a Makita 1/3 sheet sander worth R895.
Xolile Kata, from Sunnyridge, East London correctly picked the Toyota Tazz as the best budget car. “The Toyota Tazz is very fuel efficient and it is surprisingly comfortable to drive – despite being such a small car,” said Kata.
Maryanne Stewart selected the Volkswagen Polo in the best light car section. Stewart, from Port Elizabeth, is a strong believer in the Volkswagen brand and owns a Golf IV 1,6 Standard. “I’ve had the car for a year and I have had no problems. If I could have a second car it would definitely be a Polo,” said Stewart.
Brand faith also helped student Cobus Rossouw of Hartbeesport pick the C-Class as the winner in the compact car category. “It’s a great car and my family has always gone for Mercedes-Benz,” he said.
In the sub-compact car section, many readers put their Makita tools on the VW Golf/Jetta, a good choice since it’s a four-time winner. Once again, belief in a marque helped another winner make his choice. Louis Boshoff drives a Volkswagen Passat and is thinking of buying a Jetta diesel.
You can’t go wrong with a Porsche, said Leon Cronje of his selection of the 911 as best performance car. “It’s still a beautiful car, it’s a classic,” said the minister from Richmond in the Northern Cape.
There were lots of votes for the Mercedes-Benz E-Class in the best executive saloon section and the S-Class in the best grand saloon category. Our winner was Henri Groenewald of Pretoria, who said he would love to take the E55 AMG for a spin, while Majedie Howell of Cape Town picked the S-Class correctly.
Ky Ox of Randburg correctly picked the A4 Avant as the best compact MPV/SW. “It’s the car that I want. It’s got a lot of space and because I do a lot of adventure sports it would be great,” said Ox, who drives a VW Polo Playa.
In the best MPV/SW category, Nic Oosthuizen of Secunda was on target with the Chrysler Voyager. “I saw it at Auto Africa and, judging by the number of people that were crowded around it, I figured it would win,” he said.
Ruth Boruvka was one of few readers who correctly picked the Subaru Forester in the compact SUV category. Many readers thought the Toyota RAV4 would win. “My husband and I are aiming to buy a Forester as our next car and I know it’s a good car. We are both scuba divers and the space in the Forester would be great,” said Boruvka, who drives an Opel Corsa.
The BMW X5 hung on to its top spot in the best SUV category for the second year. Zuubair Ebrahim was on target with this vehicle. “It looks mean and I wish I had one,” he said.
In the final section, best double-cab/pick-up, James Whittle wins a sander for giving the Toyota Hilux his vote, and it was a simple case of voting for the vehicle he drives.
Congratulations to all our winners and be sure to enter again this year.
Top 12 winners:
Overall: Herman le Roux (Gauteng)
Categories:
Budget car: Xolile Kata (Eastern Cape)
Light car: Maryann Stewart (Eastern Cape)
Sub-compact car: Louis Boshoff (Gauteng)
Compact car: Cobus Rossouw (North West)
Best performance car: Leon Cronje (Northern Cape)
Best executive saloon: Henri Groenewald (Gauteng)
Best grand saloon: Majedie Howell (Western Cape)
Best compact MPV/SW: Ky Ox (Gauteng)
Best MPV/SW: Nic Oosthuizen (Mpumalanga)
Best compact SUV: Ruth Boruvka (Gauteng)
Best SUV: Zubair Ebrahim (Gauteng)
Best double-cab/ pick-up: James Whittle (KZN).