South Africa’s best new vehicles in 13 categories and the Brand Title of the Year were announced at a gala event at the Waterfall City Park at Mall of Africa.
The prestigious Cars.co.za Awards, sponsored by Absa, is done by South Africa’s leading online motoring platform Cars.co.za.
Budget Car: Suzuki Swift 1.2 GLX
(Runners up: Hyundai Exter 1.2 Executive, Mahindra XUV 3XO 1.2T MX3).
Compact Hatch: Volkswagen Polo 1.0 TSI (85 kW) R-Line Auto
(Runners up: Honda Fit 1.5 Elegance Auto, Suzuki Baleno 1.5 GLX Auto).
Budget Crossover: Toyota Urban Cruiser 1.5 XR Auto
(Runners up: Kia Sonet 1.5 LX Auto, Suzuki Fronx 1.5 GLX Auto).
Compact Family Car: Toyota Corolla Cross 1.8 Hybrid XR
(Runners up: Kia Seltos 1.5 CRDi EX+, Volkswagen T-Cross 1.0 TSI R-Line).
Family Car: Kia Sportage 1.6CRDi GT Line Plus
(Runners up: Volkswagen Tiguan 1.4 TSI R-Line, Chery Tiggo 8 Pro Max 2.0TGDi 390 Executive AWD).
Premium Crossover: Mini Countryman S ALL4
(Runners up: BMW X2 sDrive18i M Sport, Volvo XC40 B4 Plus Dark).
Executive SUV: BMW X3 30e xDrive M Sport
(Runners up: Lexus NX 450h+ F Sport, Mercedes-Benz GLC 300d 4Matic AMG Line).
Premium SUV: BMW X5 xDrive30d M Sport
(Runners up: Lexus RX 500h F Sport, Mercedes-Benz GLE 300d 4Matic).
Adventure SUV: Land Rover Defender 110 D350 X-Dynamic HSE
(Runners up: Toyota Land Cruiser Prado 2.8GD VX-R, Ford Everest 3.0 TD V6 4WD Wildtrak).
Leisure Double Cab: Toyota Hilux Double Cab 2.4GD-6 Raider 4×4 Auto
(Runners up: Isuzu D-Max Double Cab 1.9 TD LS 4×4 Auto, Ford Ranger Double Cab 2.0SiT XLT 4×4 Auto).
Ultimate Double Cab: Ford Ranger 3.0T V6 Raptor 4WD
(Runners up: Toyota Hilux Double Cab 2.8GD-6 GR-Sport 4×4 Auto, Ineos Grenadier 3.0T Quartermaster Trailmaster Edition).
Performance Car: BMW M2 Auto
(Runners up: Audi RS3 Sportback quattro, Mercedes-AMG A45 S Hatch 4Matic+).
Electric Vehicle: Mini Countryman SE ALL4
(Runners up: BMW iX1 xDrive30 M Sport, Volvo EX30 Plus Twin Motor Performance).
Brand of the Year: Toyota
(Runners up: Mini, Isuzu)
Three apiece: BMW and Toyota notched up the most category wins (3 apiece) in the 2024/25 #CarsAwards. BMW has the second most category wins in #CarsAwards history (15), followed by Toyota (14) and Suzuki (11). Volkswagen (21) still leads the #CarsAwards category trophies tally, but its advantage is narrowing.
Brand of the Year hat trick: By winning the most prestigious #CarsAwards title for a third consecutive time, Toyota has a total of 5 Brand of the Year wins, followed by Suzuki (2) and Volkswagen (1). Apart from wins for the Urban Cruiser and Hilux, the Corolla Cross defended its Compact Family Car win, this time with the 1.8 Hybrid XR.
Budget Car King: Suzuki won the Budget Car category for the sixth time out of eight iterations of the #CarsAwards programme with the Swift 1.2 GLX. The previous-gen model (also a 1.2 GLX) won the Entry-level Hatch trophy for a 2nd consecutive time in 2023/24. A Swift variant has won a #CarsAwards category five times.
Five in a row: Volkswagen won the #CarsAwards Compact Hatch category for the fifth straight time with a 1.0-litre turbopetrol Polo variant (the 1.0 TSI 85kW R-Line).
Comeback brands: Mini trebled its #CarsAwards trophy tally by finishing on top in the Premium Crossover and Electric Car categories with its Countryman, marking the first time the Oxford-based brand has won a #CarsAwards category since 2017/18.
After winning the Premium SUV title in 2020/21, the Land Rover Defender climbed back onto the winners list in the Adventure SUV category of 2024/25. The 110 D350 X-Dynamic HSE also achieved the highest combined score of all finalists (81.1%).
Widest winning margin – Kia, which claimed its first #CarsAwards category win with the Sportage 1.6CRDi EX (Family Car) last year, successfully defended its title with the 1.6CRDi GT Line Plus variant. It beat its nearest rival (Volkswagen Tiguan) by 4.7%.
Narrowest winning margin – Apart from winning Performance Car and Executive SUV categories, the BMW pinched the Premium SUV title with the X5 xDrive30d M Sport, which edged out the Lexus RX by only two hundredths of a per cent (0.02%).
Closest 3-way battle – The Compact Hatch category had the smallest gap between the first and third places (0.1%), while Ultimate Double Cab, won by the Ford Ranger Raptor, had the biggest gap between the first- and third-placed finalists (11.4%).
UD Trucks Southern Africa announced the addition of its latest dealership in Midvaal, operated by the ETTC Group. This new facility strengthens UD Trucks’ commitment to providing high-quality sales, service and parts support, strategically positioned to serve fleet operators and transport businesses along South Africa’s key N1 and N3 routes.
GWM recently unveiled new vehicles at its 2025 Dealer Conference and awards, with the all-new GWM P300 bakkie, the new GWM H6 GT PHEV, and the Tank 300 Diesel variant making their local debuts.
Rola Ford Robertson won the Ford Dealer of the Year award for the second time in a row while the Human Auto Group bagged its fifth consecutive Dealer Group of the Year title.
Advertisement
Advertisement
I have bad reflexes. I was once run over by a car being pushed by two guys
Woody Allen
SVI Engineering, a specialist manufacturer of armoured products in South Africa, has developed a bespoke armouring package for the new Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, handing this sought-after 4x4 SUV concealed level B6 protection.
Mahindra South Africa marked two decades of success in the country by hosting the Mahindra Fusion Fest, a landmark event that blended business, culture and community engagement and set the stage for a dynamic third decade, according to the manufacturer.
The SunBet Arena in Pretoria is a hive of activity as Mahindra South Africa finalises preparations for its historic Fusion Fest this Saturday (22 February).
