2021 Cars.co.za Consumer Awards – powered by WesBank
The theme for this year’s #CarsAwards is “Be Part of the Journey – My Car, My Freedom”.
Category winners: 2020/21 #CarsAwards – powered by WesBank
Budget Car – Toyota Starlet 1.4 XR
Compact Hatch – Volkswagen Polo 1.0 TSI Comfortline Auto
Compact Family Car – Volkswagen T-Cross 1.5 TSI 110kW R-Line
Entry Level Car – Suzuki Swift 1.2 GL
Family Car – Toyota RAV4 2.0 AWD GX-R
Adventure SUV – Toyota Fortuner 2.8 GD-6 4×4 VX Auto
Premium SUV – Land Rover Defender D240 HSE
Executive SUV – Volvo XC60 D5 R-Design
Crossover – Toyota C-HR 1.2T Luxury
Premium Crossover – Volvo XC40 T5 AWD R-Design
Hot hatch – Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR
Leisure Double Cab – Toyota Hilux 2.8 GD-6 4×4 Legend Auto
Sports Executive – BMW 330is Edition
Fifty per cent of the final scores of the category finalists were determined by the rankings the vehicles’ respective brands achieved in the Cars.co.za Ownership Satisfaction Survey – in partnership with data specialists Lightstone Consumer. The data was based on owners’ experiences of their vehicles (less than for years old and serviced through franchised outlets) and the survey affected the results in four #CarsAwards categories.
The Toyota Starlet (Budget Car) and Hilux (Leisure Double Cab), plus the Volkswagen T-Cross (Compact Family Car) and Golf GTI TCR (Hot Hatch) did not score the highest marks from the panel of judges following the evaluation yet they emerged victorious because consumers rated their brands’ experiences higher than those of their competitors.
“Right from the outset, the #CarsAwards was conceived to take a practical and usable approach to deciding the winners,” said Cars.co.za Consumer Experience Manager, Hannes Oosthuizen. “Our Awards programme is meant to be used as a buying guide that reaches the entire population, not only those who follow motoring publications.”
04/11/2020 – #CarsAwards (Photo by Roarke Bouffe / Cars.co.za)
Toyota won the #CarsAwards Brand of the Year title for a third time.
As opposed to the 13 category winners, which were decided by a combination of judges’ scores and consumer data, the recipient of the #CarsAwards Brand of the Year title was determined entirely by market data and the findings of the survey (brands’ respective sales and after-sales service ratings were particularly impactful, as were the percentages of purchase-price value the brands’ finalists retained after three years of ownership).
