Here are the year’s most outstanding automobiles

For some reason, this year’s handing out of the Auto Focus People’s Choice Awards for the most preferred car models and most popular automobiles and the Media’s Choice Awards for exceptional car models as deemed by the motoring journalists was remarkably well attended despite the more than usual horrendous traffic that came with an unexpected downpour.

Held last Thursday, October 18 at the Valle Verde Country Club, Toyota Motor Philippines in tandem with Lexus Philippines once again swept the top honors with the Toyota Wigo driving off with the 2018 – 2019 People’s Choice for Automobile of the Year (AOY) among the Standard models with the Lexus NX300 for the Premium Luxury category.

The Toyota Wigo came out with a consolidated score (80 percent - votes and 20 percent – sales) of 3,316.2 outpointing Standard category second placer Mitsubishi Montero Sport, which accumulated 2,863 consolidated points.

In the Premium/Luxury classification, the Lexus NX300 registered 837.2 points with a reed-thin 3.6-point winning margin over stable mate, Lexus RX350. 

As for the most preferred models (Model of the Year) in the different vehicle categories, here’s the list of winners.

Standard

A. Sedan of the Year (AOY) – Toyota Wigo

B. Sports Car of the Year – Ford Mustang in its first-ever victory in this category

C. Van/MPV of the Year – Nissan Urvan in a back-to-back win from last year’s.

D. Pick Up of the Year – Nissan Navarra on its 4th win with previous awards given in 2008, 2010 and 2011.

E. SUV/Crossover of the Year – Mitsubishi Montero Sport, with its 5th award is now enshrined in the Model of the Year Hall of Fame with previous wins in 2009, 2012, 2013 and 2017.

Premium

A. SUV/Crossover of the Year (AOY) – Lexus NX300

A. Sports Car of the Year – Audi R8 V10 is on its debut award in the category.

B. Van/MPV of the Year – Honda Odyssey is on its 3rd straight win.

C. Sedan of the Year – Lexus IS350 lost its chance to be part of the prestigious Hall of Fame having previously won the AOY award twice. 

Media’s Choice Awards

During the same evening, due recognition was also conferred upon winners of the “2018-2019 Auto Focus Media’s Choice Awards” (AFMCA), an equally important component of STV’s Automobile Industry Merit Program. The AFMCA aim is to further recognize the automobile industry’s continuing efforts to provide car owners and motorists with the best on-board features, styling, performance and overall value. A select group of recognized motoring media professionals and practitioners comprised the AFMCA Voters’ Panel. Prompted by a record-high number of entries and the evident level of parity in many model categories, the Awards Committee reviewed the previous years’ majority rule and opted for one-third or 33.3-percent vote tally requirement for media awardees. The previous 12 Standard and 10 Premium/Luxury model classes were retained. Based on this, 45 winners emerged from the 88 award categories. These were:

Best Design – Standard:

Chevrolet Spark (Mini); Mazda 2 (Subcompact); Mazda 6 (Midsize Sedan); Civic Type R (Sports Car); Ford Ranger (Pickup); Hyundai Grand Starex (Van); Mitsubishi XPander (MPV)

Best Design – Premium/Luxury:

BMW 5-Series (Midsize Sedan); Porsche Panamera (Large Sedan); Lamborghini Aventador (Sports Car); Toyota Alphard (Van); Mercedes Benz B-Class (MPV)

Best Engine Performance – Standard:

Honda Brio (Mini); Mazda 2 (Subcompact); Honda Civic Type R (Sports Car); Mitsubishi Pajero (Large SUV/Crossover); Isuzu D-Max (Pickup); Nissan NV350 Urvan (Van); Toyota Innova (MPV)

Best Engine Performance – Premium/Luxury:

MINI 3-Door & 5-Door (Subcompact); BMW 5-Series (Midsize Sedan); Porsche Panamera (Large Sedan); Porsche Cayenne (Midsize SUV/Crossover); Toyota Alphard (Van); Mercedes Benz B-Class (MPV)

Best Safety Features – Standard:

Volkswagen Golf GTS (Compact Sedan); Ford Expedition (Large SUV/Crossover); Hyundai Grand Starex (Van)

Best Safety Features – Premium/Luxury:

Mercedes Benz A-Class (Subcompact); Volvo S60 (Midsize Sedan); Volvo XC60 (Midsize SUV/Crossover); Volvo XC90 (Large SUV/Crossover); Mercedes Benz V-Class (Van); BMW 2-Series Gran Tourer (MPV)

Best Value-for-Money – Standard:

Toyota Wigo (Mini); Toyota Camry (Midsize Sedan); Suzuki Jimny (Subcompact SUV/Crossover); Isuzu MU-X (Midsize SUV/Crossover); Isuzu D-Max (Pickup); Nissan NV350 Urvan (Van)

Best Value-for-Money – Premium/Luxury:

Lexis IS350 (Compact Sedan); BMW 5-Series (Midsize Sedan); Lexus LS500 (Large Sedan); Lexus NX300 (Compact SUV/Crossover); Toyota Land Cruiser 200 (Large SUV/Crossover); Peugeot Traveler (MPV)

We would like to express our appreciation to the Land Transportation Office and STRADCOM, its longtime official IT Provider for their invaluable support and assistance to ensure this endeavor’s success.

Congratulations to all the winners.

Happy Motoring!!!

For comments and inquiries email [email protected] or visit www.motoringtoday.ph.