SA COTY is one of the few national competitions that stages physical test days.
Image: CW Media
South Africa’s Car of the Year (COTY) competition turns 40 this year. I can still remember reading about it in motoring magazines in my younger days, and it has been an honour doing ‘jury duty’ for the competition, albeit on and off, over the past two decades.
Over its four decades of existence, COTY has stuck to its guns as a competition that rewards excellence and innovation within a car’s particular class and context. It's also one of the only global COTY contests that stages physical test days to put each finalist through its paces.
In theory, a Suzuki Swift has just as good a chance of winning the competition as a BMW 7 Series, as jurors are urged to score each of the finalists against their natural competitors, rather than the other finalists, and the score sheet is designed to facilitate this.
The static evaluation takes place on the first day of the event.
Image: CW Media
In fairness, the competition’s focus on innovation has led to more premium offerings taking the top prize in recent years, but that is balanced out to a large degree by the existence of category awards that make the competition’s results more relevant to a wider audience.
With my score sheet in hand, I made my way to Phahama Lodge near Hartbeespoort in Gauteng recently, to be greeted by 18 shiny new finalists parked outside the conference venue.
First up was what they call the static evaluation, something of a tyre-kicking extravaganza that involves getting in and out of each finalist and rating them on aspects such as exterior and interior design, build quality, practicality and user-friendliness of interfaces. Boot space? Quality of the sound system? They're all covered by the comprehensive questionnaire. The first day also gave us an opportunity to test some of the finalists out on the road - in this case, the formidable Hennops River Valley road.
Finalists line up for the on-track activities.
Image: CW Media
The second day was action-packed, to say the least, with each finalist being put through a dynamic course at Zwartkops Raceway that includes track driving as well as slaloms and brake testing. This year’s track test was affected by frequent rain showers, which allowed jurors to gain extra insights into each car’s wet-weather grip and performance.
All of these dynamic aspects are also comprehensively covered on the score sheet, while the final questions concern value, as well as overall excellence, innovation and “fitness for purpose”.
But which was the most excellent contender in 2026?
We’ll only know when the winners are revealed at an exclusive event in May.
On-track evaluation was wet, but certainly not a washout.
Image: CW Media
All I can say as one of 25 jurors who scored cars this year is that the chances of a Chinese vehicle taking top honours this year are greater than ever. Consider that in 2026, seven of the 18 finalists are Chinese, and these were often at the top of jurors’ lips when discussing the ins and outs of each contender after the event.
Any dark horses? The BYD Dolphin Surf surprised many jurors with its all-round driveability and practicality, as did the BYD Shark. The Jetour T2 was another all-rounder that received consistent praise, while the Omoda C7 attracted its fair share of kind mentions.
Following the testing phase, the jury’s scores will be combined with sales data and specification-adjusted pricing to determine category winners. The competition also includes a public vote through the Motor Enthusiast’s Choice segment, allowing consumers to have a say in the outcome.
All will be revealed soon, so watch this space!
Fun fact: BMW has won the competition a record seven times in the past 40 years. A bakkie has only ever won it once, with the Ford Ranger taking honours in 2023, although this body style was only eligible in recent years.
German brands have won the competition 23 times in its 40 year existence. Japan is a distant second at 7 victories, followed by France (3), Sweden and the US (2), while Italy and South Korea have one victory each.
IOL Motoring