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Porsche wins SA Coty: What readers say

‘Porsche winning was robbery’, ‘Price should be a huge factor’, ‘Most sold car not necessarily the best’, Wheels24 readers express their views on Porsche being crowned the 2014 SA Car of the year.

The Porsche Cayman S has been crowned the 2014 South African Car of the Year and becomes only the second automaker in the competition’s 28-year history to score successive wins.

The Cayman was one of nine finalists in the annual WesBank and South African Guild of Motoring Journalists' competition.

Click here to find out how judges voted.
 
GALLERY: 2014 SA Coty finalists

Porsche controversially won the competition in 2013 with its Boxster and unsurprisingly the 2014 result has sparked debate among our readers. Wheels24 ran its own Car of the Year poll since the finalist were announced in 2013 but more on that later…

READERS DEBATE

Cammie Cee said: “No doubt, the Cayman is a great car and yes, this is about rewarding the BEST car. If I lived in the UK / US/Germany and read that SA Coty was a Porsche my first thought would not necessarily be of a group of motoring journos making that decision.

“I would be more inclined to think that this car appears to be affordable to the SA middle-class and that it must sell well. Even worse, our African neighbours might also get the perception that it is truly going well in our land of milk and honey. At the end of the day, the general public, like myself, lose interest in Car of the Year, as is the case now.

“I think they need to revisit their criteria.”

Johan Rademan: “Seems the motor gurus live in a world of their own. Everyone I know is downsizing their car choice. (The vote) is a very unrealistic approach that does not reflect the real car-buyers choices.

Jeanette Gibbs Persson said: “I think the car of the year should be judged on the highest-selling cars. COTY can get the figures from the dealers and then judge from there. In my opinion it is useless judging cars that most of the population will never be able to afford.

Shaun Terbruggen said: “I have never driven this Porsche but based on reviews I've read and seen on TV it is a superb car. However SA COTY has undoubtedly lost its relevance to the average Joe in SA and is now no more than an ego trip for the suits in the higher echelons of the motor industry. It's time to rethink the concept or simply bury it.”

Dewald Van Heerver: “So affordability doesn’t count? The Car of the Year competition is becoming a joke. So next year we’ll have a very expensive supercar again.

Louis Kruger: “So if the Golf, which came second won, would you all have been happy?”

Henning Pantke: “Saying the best car sells the most, is like saying the ANC is the most effective government because they get the most votes. If we had to choose the car of the year based on what the sheeple buy, we will have a straight shoot-out between Corolla and Polo every damn year.”

WHEELS24 READERS' CAR OF THE YEAR

Wheels24 ran its own readers' poll and their choice (see poll figures below) was the Volvo V40 De Geartronic Excel by clear margin.

Here how Wheels24 reader voted (in descending order):
Volvo V40 - 4585 votes
Lexus IS 350 F-Sport 16% - 2418 votes
Volkswagen Golf 7 1.4 TSI 90kW Comfortline DSG 14% - 2017 votes
Mercedes-Benz A 45 AMG 11% - 1666 votes
Jaguar F-Type 3.0 V6 S 8% - 1192 votes
Renault Clio4 66kW Turbo Dynamique 6% - 886 votes
Audi A3 Sportback 1.4T FSI Manual 5% - 809 votes
Peugeot 208 GTI 5% - 712 votes
Porsche Cayman S 4% - 591 votes

Readers had the following to say about our Car of the year poll:

Leon van Rensburg said: “Quite funny that the Porsche came last in the readers’ poll. What happened to the days where a simple, affordable fun to drive vehicle which the general public can own won, such as Opel Kadett in 1994/1995?

“I’m not saying the Porsche is a bad car, it is a great drive as I have driven one myself but I don’t know if cars like it should compete in an event like this. Price should be a huge factor in a competition such as this. Can the average South African afford the vehicle?

Cal Kennedy said: “The winner (Porsche) was robbery. The Lexus had the most public votes. Motoring journalists are bogus.”

Tebogo Samuel Tshakuma said: “I still think Volvo V40 is the ultimate winner but unfortunately ordinary persons like me do not have the financial muscle to influence the jury’s decision.

“I think the Volvo V40 Geartronic Excel is practical, has good handling on the road and it also has excellent safety features. More importantly you get that sports car feel in a family car. Big ups to Volvo, they doing a very good job.”
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