In December there seems to be a buzz around the Car Of The Year Awards (COTY), like Christmas carols in shopping malls, the announcement of annual awards from the motoring magazines and websites also gets earlier each year. In an effort to beat each other we may end up with the situation where the Cars of the Year will be announced in June. I suppose that mixes well with Christmas in July.
However it has always struck us here at OzRoamer as just a little strange that COTY winners should be announced before the year is actually finished. So as we always seem to do things just a little differently here at OzRoamer to give our readers maximum information and benefit, our awards for 2015 are announced in this issue. This way we can actually assess all relevant vehicles for our awards.
The criteria for our awards is simple:
- The vehicle must be currently available for sale to the general public;
- The vehicle must meet the criteria for its category;
- Final contenders are selected by the panel;
- Each vehicle is subjectively and objectively measured against its competitors in the category and the one with the most points wins;
- That the judging criteria reflects real life situations because you our readers buy these vehicles for use in similar situations;
- That the awards assist our readers make educated buying decisions; and
- Advertising dollars and marketing hype doesn’t sway the eventual winners or even the contenders.
Pricing comes from the industry website redbook.com.au with a Sydney 2000 postcode as the standard. The categories , we think, reflect real world buying decisions. If you feel we have left a worthwhile contender out please let us know for next year.
So to the categories and contenders! This year there are 11 categories and over 45 contenders for various awards.
OzRoamer 2015 Sports SUV Award
- BMW X5 M50d
- Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT
- Subaru Forester XT Premium
- Mercedes Benz ML 63 AMG
- Porsche Cayenne GTS
OzRoamer 2015 Dual Cab Ute Award
- Holden Colorado LTZ
- Isuzu D Max LST
- Mitsubishi Triton Exceed
- Ford Ranger XLT
- Mazda BT50 XTR
OzRoamer 2015 4WD under $60,000 Award
- Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon
- Toyota FJ Cruiser
- Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk
- Mitsubishi Pajero Sport Exceed
OzRoamer 2015 4WD over $60,000 Award
- Toyota LC70 GXL Wagon V8 Diesel
- Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland V6 Diesel
- Toyota GX 200 Landcruiser V8 Diesel
- Land Rover Discovery 4 TDV6
OzRoamer 2015 AWD SUV under $60,000 Award
- Mazda CX5 GT 2.2 DTD
- Kia Sportage Platinum 2.0R CRDi
- Subaru Outback 2.0D Premium
- Jeep Cherokee Limited 2.0L I-4 Td
OzRoamer 2015 AWD SUV over $60,000 Award
- BMW X4xDrive30d
- Audi Q5 3.0TDi
- Volvo XC60 T6 AWD Teknik
- Mercedes Benz GLC 250d
OzRoamer 2015 7 Seat 4WD under $60,000 Award
- Toyota Fortuner GXL
- Holden Colorado 7 LTZ
- Isuzu MU-X LST
- Mitsubishi Pajero GLXR
OzRoamer 2015 7 Seat 4WD over $60,000 Award
- Toyota Fortuner Crusade
- Toyota Prado Kakadu Turbo Diesel
- Mitsubishi Pajero Exceed DiD
- Ford Everest Titanium
OzRoamer 2015 7 Seat AWD SUV under $60,000 Award
- Kia Sorento SLi 2.2 DT
- Hyundai Santa Fe Elite 2.2R CRDi
- Ford Territory TS AWD 2.7L V6 CRD
- Toyota Kluger GXL V6
OzRoamer 2015 7 Seat AWD SUV over $60,000 Award
- Kia Sorento Platinum 2.2DTi
- Hyundai Santa Fe Highlander 2.2R CRDi
- Toyota Kluger Grande V6
- Volvo XC 90 DS Momentum
OzRoamer 2015 Prestige SUV over $100,000 Award
- Porsche Cayenne S
- Ford F250 ( From Harrison F Trucks)
- Mercedes Benz GL350 Blue Tec
- Range Rover Vogue TDV6HSE
- Audi Q7 TDi
To find out the winners simply BUY HERE for the magazine and read the following pages, maybe there are a few surprises there. The results are sure to prompt a lot of emails like last year as we have alternate views on vehicles and aren’t influenced by advertising dollars or reputations. Our view is that the reader should be able to rely on these awards to assist with buying decisions.