The Porsche Boxster has been announced as the 2013 South African Car of the Year by the South African Guild of Motoring Journalists.
There were 12 finalists in the running for the title. The vehicles are all put through their paces by the judges and are scored in a similar fashion to the points-based system used in the European Car of the Year encompassing such criteria as design, comfort, safety, economy, handling, performance, functionality, environmental requirements, driver satisfaction, and price.
The final results are as follows:
1) Porsche Boxster – 221 points
2) Range Rover Evoque Si4 – 181 points
3) Toyota 86 High Spec – 177 points
4) Kia Rio 1,4 Tec manual hatchback – 144 points
5) Lexus GS 350 EX – 143 points
6) Hyundai i30 1,8 Executive – 106 points
7) BMW 320i AT – 104 points
8) Nissan Juke 1,6 DIG-T Tekna (with leather) – 78 points
9) Opel Meriva 1,4T Cosmo – 67 points
10) Ford Ranger 3,2 XLT 4×4 DC AT – 56 points
11) Toyota Yaris 1,5 HSD Sx – 47 points
12) Mercedes-Benz B180 CDI BlueEfficiency – 35 points
Last year’s winner was the Hyundai Elantra.
CAR does not participate in the South African Car of the Year. We do, however, agree that the Boxster is an impressive vehicle, which is why we voted it as the winner in the Best Performance Car category for our annual Top 12 Best Buys. You can read the full Top 12 article in the March 2013 issue of CAR – on sale now.