Porsche has had a great year this last one.  In the past 365 days, they’ve managed to sell all 918 918 Spyders, they’ve released the Cayman and Boxster GTS which have been a global hit, they’ve released the Cayman GT4 with a manual-only gearbox and a 911 engine which is being heralded as one of the best drivers’ cars around, Porsche South Africa bought the Kyalami race track and saved it from developers, and now, they’ve gone and won a hat trick in the Wesbank Car Of The Year (COTY) as the Macan S Diesel took the 2015 title at last night’s gala event.

 

In 2013, Porsche shocked the country by winning the title with the Boxster, and in 2014 they did it again with the Cayman S.  Last night, however, Porsche made history as the Macan S Diesel became the first SUV to ever win the Wesbank COTY title, and Porsche became the first manufacturer to ever win the title 3 years in a row, usurping Opel’s 1994 and 1995 back-to-back win (Opel Kadett 140 in 1994 and Astra 160iS in 1995).  2015 is only the 3rd year the manufacturer has been in the running, giving them a 100% record in the competition.

 

The Macan S Diesel was selected from within a field of 11 finalists, spanning a broad range of market segments.  The panel of judges evaluated all 11 finalists over a stringent two day testing process at the Gerotek facility, and subsequently cast their votes.  According to the SAGMJ (South African Guild of Motor Journalists, “the Jury is allowed 50 votes that may be allocated to all 11 finalists, but to no less than seven, and with no more than 10 points allowed for any one vehicle. All votes are motivated and open to scrutiny.”

 

“The winning vehicle is evaluated and scored in relation to its segment competitors. While each vehicle’s final score is determined by assessing aesthetics, dynamics, performance, fuel efficiency, safety, technology, parts pricing and cost of ownership, to name but a few, the overriding criterion to which each vehicle is scored, is overall excellence.”

 

Bernard Hellberg Jr, COTY Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the SAGMJ said, “The SUV market is growing steadily across the globe and South Africa is no exception.  The Macan has proven its dominance of the luxury end of this segment by consistently delivering on the high levels of automotive excellence that the Car Of The Year competition aims to reward.”

 

The Macan has received global recognition as a brilliant SUV, but with Porsche’s hat trick last night, many followers of the competition are now questioning its relevance to South Africans, as well as the overall decision making.  With other finalists including the Citroen C4 Picasso, Renault Duster, Subaru WRX, Mercedes-Benz C Class, and BMW M4 Coupe to name a few, there will be much debate as to whether or not the Porsche is a deserving winner or not.

 

The 11 finalists for this year’s COTY were:

 

 

With such a wide range of finalists, we can’t help but feel that if anyone should have won, it should have been the Renault Duster 1.5DCI Dynamique 4WD, which has carved its own niche in the market place as a soft roader that’s spacious, comfortable, highly capable off road, and affordable too – moving not only its segment forward but motoring in South Africa as a whole.  You can read our review of the Duster HERE.

 

Porsche’s achievements are nonetheless something to be proud of, and add yet another feather to their cap of recent accolades and accomplishments.  Saving Kyalami and coincidentally winning COTY for a third time in a row – I guess Porsche is more of the ‘people’s car’ than we knew.

 

Previous winners of the WesBank / SAGMJ Car Of The Year competition:
1986 Toyota Corolla Twin Cam
1987 Mercedes-Benz 260E
1988 BMW 735i
1989 Toyota Corolla GLi Executive
1990 BMW 525i
1991 Opel Monza 160 GSi
1992 Nissan Maxima 300 SE
1993 BMW 316i
1994 Opel Kadett 140
1995 Opel Astra 160iS
1996 Audi A4 1.8
1997 BMW 528i
1998 Ford Fiesta Fun
1999 Alfa Romeo 156 T-Spark
2000 Renault Clio 1.4 RT
2001 BMW 320d
2002 Audi A4 1.9 TDI
2003 Volkswagen Polo TDI
2004 Renault Mégane 1.9 dCi
2005 Volvo S40 2.4i
2006 Audi A3 Sportback 2.0T
2007 Honda Civic 1.8 VXi Sedan
2008 Mazda2 1.5 Individual
2009 Honda Accord 2.4 Executive
2010 Volkswagen Golf 6 1.4 TSI
2011 BMW 530d and Volkswagen Polo 1.6 TDI
2012 Hyundai Elantra 1.8 GLS Executive
2013 Porsche Boxster
2014 Porsche Cayman S
2015 Porsche Macan Diesel S

 

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