Car of year being judged

Judging for the New Zealand Car of the Year award is nearly complete ahead of the big announcement in Auckland. The AA and NZ Motoring Writers’ Guild will unveil what car has secured the title at the Viaduct Events Centre on December 4. Guild members and AA judges are independently ranking each of the top 10 finalists on elements including value, design and quality. Alongside this selection, they are also choosing their favourites from all new cars currently on sale in a range of categories. Stella Stocks, the AA’s general manager of motoring services, says the awards provide consumers with information on the best vehicles for a range of uses. The car of the year is the pick of all new cars launched in New Zealand in the 12 months to October, while category winners are selected from all new cars available on the market right now. Stocks says that because of the structure of the awards, consumers can be sure the judges are looking at all elements of every type of new car available to come up with the best. “Not everyone is in the market for a new car, but one of the benefits of the award is that the selections endure,” she says. “The winners will still be good cars in three or four years as they become used cars.” The top 10 finalists for the top award are the Mazda3, Honda Jazz, Nissan Qashqai, Nissan X-Trail, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, Toyota Highlander, BMW M3/4, Jeep Cherokee and Range Rover Sport. Liz Dobson, president of the guild, says: “The voting for the final 10 by members is robust with strong opinions on what should and shouldn’t be on the list. They write for an array of publications and come from rural areas and cities, so there are different perspectives on what should be the car of the year.”