The Porsche Macan took top honours in the 2015 Wesbank/South African Guild of Motoring Journalists (SAGMJ) Car of the Year (COTY) competition. This announcement follows a gala dinner hosted by headline sponsor, Wesbank on the 18th of March.
Having scooped the 2013 and 2014 Wesbank/SAGMJ COTY titles with Boxster and Cayman S respectively, Porsche is the only manufacturer, since inception of the competition in 1986, to score three consecutive wins. This is only the third year in which Porsche has been nominated as a Wesbank/SAGMJ COTY finalist. Porsche set more records for the Wesbank/SAGMJ COTY competition by being the first ever sports car to win the coveted title (2013 and 2014); and now the Macan is the first ever competitor in the Sports Utility Vehicle or 4X4 segment to secure victory.
Accepting the trophy from Chris de Kok, Chief Executive of Wesbank and Roger McCleery, Chairman of the South African Guild of Motoring Journalists, Toby Venter, Chief Executive of Porsche South Africa said; ‚“I am delighted to accept this award on behalf of the dedicated team at Porsche South Africa, our enthusiastic Porsche customers and Porsche engineers, whose commitment and professionalism created the remarkable Macan. This accolade for the Porsche Macan; and everybody involved in its development, will be celebrated by the global Porsche family. We are privileged to celebrate a third consecutive win in the 30th year of the Wesbank/SAGMJ COTY competition‘s history. We extend a special word of thanks to Wesbank for their substantial sponsorship which has created fitting a platform for the South African motor industry to recognise and celebrate excellence“.
Early in March this year, eleven finalists for the 2015 competition, representing a diversity of vehicle segments and catagories within the motor industry, were put through their paces by a Guild jury of 29 senior members at Gerotek testing facility outside Pretoria. Scoring was meticulous and each finalist was assessed according to various criteria against competitors from within the vehicle segment they represent.
The new Porsche Macan was introduced in South Africa during 2014 and has received rave reviews from media and customers alike.