Comparing Jimnys with Porsches – How does the 2019 AutoTrader Car of the Year really work?

By Stuart Johnston

The South African Car of the year competition has been an annual motoring highlight since 1986, when a Toyota Corolla GLi was declared the winner. The 2019 competition is due to ramp up in March when the two-day test-day event will take place at Kyalami and on surrounding roads. But how do the Jury members set about comparing so many different types of vehicles?

In recent years a number of other so-called Car of the Year competitions have sprung up in various media. The majority of these competitions differ in fundamental ways from the AutoTrader Car of the Year Competition, which is to host its annual test days on 11 and 12 March, 2019, with the winner being announced on 4 April , 2019.

So what are these differences?

There are two major differences between the AutoTrader Car of the Year competition, which has been running since 1986, and the newcomers.

The first major difference is that the other competitions name a number of cars as their “winners” and don’t declare an overall winner. In the AutoTrader Car of the Year competition there is only one winner, announced as the Car of the Year.

The second major difference is that these newer competitions are judged primarily by staff members of the various publications or websites running them.

The AutoTrader Car of the Year competition is run by the South African Guild of Motoring Journalists, which is made up of motoring journalists throughout South Africa, representing a large number of publications, magazines, newspapers and electronic media outlets.

The Car of the Year Jury, which will carry out the testing of the 12 finalists in the second week of March, is a body of 24 experienced motoring journalists nominated by the membership of close to 200. Jury members have to serve a period as trainees before they are elected to the jury.

The 12 Finalists in 2019

As has been widely reported since the announcement late in 2018, the 12 finalists this year for the 2019 competition are once again diverse. They range in price from R282 900 (the Renault Duster) to R1 296 000 (the Porsche Cayenne S). They represent 4X4s, Cross-Overs, sedans, family-sized SUVS and hatchbacks

The finalists were chosen by an elimination process that took in the Guild’s member motoring journalists of close to 200, and there was also valuable input from over 50 000 AutoTrader  readers in the semi-final stage of the competition.

Here’s the list of finalists for the 2019 AutoTrader SA Car of the Year title:

• Alfa Romeo Stelvio
• Honda Civic Type R
• Hyundai Kona
• Lexus ES
• Mercedes-Benz A-Class
• Mitsubishi Pajero Sport
• Nissan Micra
• Porsche Cayenne
• Renault Duster
• Suzuki Jimny
• Suzuki Swift
• Volvo XC40

So how do you possibly compare a Porsche with a Jimny?

Obviously a direct comparison is impossible and the same goes for other widely differing models. And this is something that all 24 Jury members are briefed on, very clearly, before setting out to test them for final impressions, one after the other, back to back. Horses for courses is the theme of the competition, and in the initial stages of analysis the contenders are judged on how they shape up in their various price and configuration categories.

For the first time this year, the AutoTrader Car of the Year will feature category winners

In line with this, for the first time this year, since the competition’s inception in 1986, the Jury will be announcing category winners. However, this will not detract with the essential premise of the competition: When all is done and dusted, there is still only one Car of the Year! As there has been since 1986.

So how is the Car of the Year chosen then?

In simple terms, the jury members have to keep in mind very clearly what each car’s intended role is in the market. They then have to assess how well each car does in fulfilling its intended role. For instance, how well does a Porsche handle through a fast sweep? How agile is a Jimny over a rock-strewn donga? How much luggage space does a Mitsubishi Pajero Sport have?

Then we take into account factors like build-quality, engine smoothness and performance, visual appeal, steering feel, and more technical aspects like braking ability, smooth and rough-road handling…. The list goes on. Standard-fit features are also analysed in the value for money and affordability categories. Here the cars are compared to their natural class competitors, rather than against the finalists.

Does this mean that the Car of the Year is the best car on the market?

Well, yes, but only for its year of introduction. For instance, if a comparison had to be drawn between the 2016 Car of the Year, and the contenders on sale in 2015 in that winner’s model segment, it may happen that an even better car had been introduced a year earlier. But then, that (theoretical) car should have been (and probably was) accorded the Car of the Year title in 2015, or in whatever year it was introduced. The Car of the Year is only the top new car for the year of its introduction.

And the winner is…..

And so: What are we looking for in a Car of the Year winner, when all the analysis is done? The Car of the Year must embody automotive excellence. It must fulfil its intended role in the market in a way that makes it stand out as a breakthrough for the motoring year. And it must push the boundaries of automotive development forward, in a significant way. It must be the most special of all special cars!

A handy way of thinking about it is the way you would choose your favourite cricket player for the year. You’d have to compare batsmen with bowlers and fielders, fast bowlers with pace bowlers and spin bowlers, opening batsmen with mid-order “ innings stabiliser” batsmen. But when all is said and done, there will be one player that would be the standout competitor for a test match series, or a season.

And in the same way, we are looking for that standout Car of the Year. Just one.  And for now, we are focussing on the  2019 “series”, which encompassed cars introduced during the greater part of 2018.

Stay tuned for more updates on the test days in March 11-12, and when the winner is announced, on April….

For more information on the AutoTrader Car of the Year 2019, click here.