News / 6 June 2022 / Albert du Toit

2022 South African Car of the Year winners revealed

The South African Guild of Mobility Journalists (SAGMJ) has revealed the winners of the 2022 Car of the Year (COTY) competition.

Over 49 vehicles spanning eight segments competed in this year’s COTY competition to be crowned king of their categories.

A Juror’s Excellence award, Motor Enthusiasts’ Choice award, and an Overall Winner was also announced.

For this year’s COTY competition, the overall winner was none other than the popular Toyota Corolla Cross which emerged victorious after four weeks of scoring.

The new Mercedes-Benz C-Class then took home the coveted Juror’s Excellence award.

The Juror’s Excellence award is particularly impressive as it only considers the raw scoring of the jurors without automated scoring factors, said the SAGMJ, whereas the overall winner includes additional scoring criteria like sales, segment share, and spec-adjusted pricing.

In the motor enthusiasts’ category, the public voted for their favourite vehicle on social media over a period of six weeks, which saw the Peugeot 208 claim this accolade.

“The COTY scoring process is much more than just juror scoring,” said the organisation.

“Once the expert panel concluded scoring, the automated scoring factors that cover sales performance, segment share, and value for money are applied.”

“Every year, we adapt the scoring system slightly to consider new global and local market trends to ensure the credibility and objectivity of our competition.”