Along with the respective verdicts of the 25 member SAGMJ judging panel, the 2019 edition, for the first time in the event’s 33 year history, involves public participation whereby South Africans were invited to give their opinions on the selected vehicles.
SAGMJ Chairman Rubin van Niekerk has stated that it came as no surprise that public voting mirrored that of the judging panel, adding that it has not only put a “technological spin on public interaction”, but aims to solely reward “automotive excellence”.
Over the next few days, the respective semi-finalists will be evaluated and then eliminated by means of voting, with the final top 10 set to be announced on November 20th. The eventual winner will be crowned in April next year and not March as previously reported.
For this year’s event, the finalists will be judged on the following aspects:
- Exterior Design
- Interior Design & Utility / Practicality
- Engine Performance
- Technology
- Transmission Performance
- Engineering Integrity, Build Quality and Noise Levels
- Ride Handling and Brakes
- Driver Assistance and Safety Systems
- Overall Excellence
- Affordability / Value for Money (automated score)
- Vehicle sales (automated score)
Another first is the introduction of categories consisting out of five divisions; Premium, Leisure, Lifestyle Utility, Urban Compact and Mid-Size, with a winner only be announcing if a suitable is identified.
In alphabetical order, the list of semi-finalists are:
| MAKE | MODEL |
| Alfa Romeo | Stelvio |
| Haval | H9 |
| Honda | Amaze Civic Type R |
| Hyundai | Kona |
| Jaguar | E-Pace |
| Land Rover | Range Rover Velar |
| Lexus | ES |
| Mercedes-Benz | A-class |
| Mitsubishi | Pajero Sport |
| Nissan | Micra |
| Opel | Crossland X Grandland X |
| Porsche | Cayenne |
| Renault | Duster Megane RS |
| Suzuki | Jimny Swift |
| Volvo | XC40 XC60 |
