The 13 category winners and the recipient of the prestigious Brand of the Year title of the 2024/25 Cars.co.za Awards, sponsored by Absa (#CarsAwards) were announced at Waterfall City Park at Mall of Africa on 27 February 2025.
Budget Car
Winner: Suzuki Swift 1.2 GLX
Runners up: Hyundai Exter 1.2 Executive, Mahindra XUV 3XO 1.2T MX3
Compact Hatch
Winner: Volkswagen Polo 1.0 TSI (85kW) R-Line Auto
Runners up: Honda Fit 1.5 Elegance Auto, Suzuki Baleno 1.5 GLX Auto
Budget Crossover
Winner: Toyota Urban Cruiser 1.5 XR Auto
Runners up: Kia Sonet 1.5 LX Auto, Suzuki Fronx 1.5 GLX Auto
Compact Family Car
Winner: 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
Winner: Kia Sportage 1.6 CRDi GT Line Plus
Runners up: Volkswagen Tiguan 1.4 TSI R-Line, Chery Tiggo 8 Pro Max 2.0TGDi 390 Executive AWD
Premium Crossover
Winner: Mini Countryman S ALL4
Runners up: BMW X2 sDrive18i M Sport, Volvo XC40 B4 Plus Dark
Executive SUV
Winner: BMW X3 30e xDrive M Sport
Runners up: Lexus NX 450h+ F Sport, Mercedes-Benz GLC 300d 4Matic AMG Line
Premium SUV
Winner: BMW X5 xDrive30d M Sport
Runners up: Lexus RX 500h F Sport, Mercedes-Benz GLE 300d 4Matic
Adventure SUV
Winner: 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
Winner: 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
Winner: 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 Trialmaster Edition
Performance Car
Winner: BMW M2 Auto
Runners up: Audi RS3 Sportback quattro, Mercedes-AMG A45 S Hatch 4Matic+
Electric Vehicle
Winner: Mini Countryman SE ALL4
Runners up: BMW iX1 xDrive30 M Sport, Volvo EX30 Plus Twin Motor Performance
Brand of the Year
Winner: Toyota
Runners up: Mini, Isuzu
Highlights of the 2024/25 #CarsAwards, sponsored by Absa
Three apiece: BMW and Toyota notched up the most category wins (3 apiece) in the 2024/25 #CarsAwards. BMW has the 2nd 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 3rd 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 6th time out of 8 iterations of the #CarsAwards 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 5 times.
Five in a row: Volkswagen won the #CarsAwards Compact Hatch category for the 5th 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 S ALL4 and SE ALL4 respectively, 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 1st #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 the 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 1st and 3rd 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%).
About the 2024/25 CarsAwards, sponsored by Absa
The winners of the 8th iteration of the Cars.co.za Awards, sponsored for a 2nd consecutive year by Absa and endorsed by naamsa | The Automotive Business Council (of South Africa) – were revealed at a glamorous Cirque du Soleil-themed event that was attended by hundreds of guests. Comedian Nik Rabinowitz and radio personality (and #CarsAwards guest judge) Khutso Theledi hosted the evening.
The Cars.co.za (widely known as the #CarsAwards) was established in 2015 to be South Africa’s definitive automotive awards programme – it plays a pivotal role in the company’s mission to help consumers make the best-informed purchasing decisions.
“The Cars.co.za Awards brings together insights of the top motoring experts in the country combined with feedback from real people who drive these vehicles every day to help our users make the best choices for their budget and lifestyle,” says Amasi Mwela, Managing Director of Cars.co.za.
“With 50% of the final scores determined by brands’ ratings in the survey, a vehicle only really stands a very good chance of winning if it is a good product in the eyes of the judges and if its brand delivers solid after-sales service.”
The 2024/25 CarsAwards’ multi-faceted judging process
The Cars.co.za Awards, sponsored by Absa utilises a unique scoring system that involves extensive testing by a panel of 19 judges, inputs from vehicle owners (based on their sales-, service- and product experiences of vehicles less than four years old and serviced through franchised outlets), provided by data specialists Lightstone.
To ensure adequate representation and coverage by brand, Lightstone undertook targeted interviews using computer-aided interviewing. This involved sourcing contact information for recently purchased vehicles and calling thousands of South African car owners to complete the survey telephonically; this approach ensured each respondent was a bona-fide owner of the target vehicle, says Lightstone. It interviewed almost 5 000 car owners.
Cars.co.za’s extended editorial team chose the 39 finalist vehicles (3 per category) out of a list of 65 semi-finalists. A notable difference between #CarsAwards and other programmes is that all new vehicles available on the market are eligible. This means that a good product launched a few years ago is not automatically excluded.
The combined judging panel (including 15 respected guest judges from various fields of expertise) compiled the finalist vehicles’ scores after they evaluated the cars back-to-back during an intensive two-day test at the Gerotek facility in November 2024.
However, the judges’ scores for the 39 finalists only counted 50% of the final standings. The other 50% was based on rankings that the respective vehicle brands represented by the finalists achieved in the Cars.co.za Ownership Satisfaction Survey.
This balanced approach to the judging process reflects in the results… Whereas the judges’ scores echoed the high owners’ ratings of the category winners’ brands in the Compact Family Car, Family Car, Premium Crossover and Adventure SUV categories, the outcomes of the other 9 categories were either determined by very high scores from the judges (Compact Hatch, Executive SUV, Premium SUV, Ultimate Double Cab and Performance Car) or by superior owners’ ratings of the winning vehicles’ brands (Budget Car, Budget Crossover, Leisure Double Cab and Electric Vehicle).
How 2024/25 CarsAwards Brand of the Year title was decided
As opposed to the category winners, the recipient of the #CarsAwards Brand of the Year title is determined solely by market data and the findings of the Cars.co.za Ownership Satisfaction Survey – how owners rated the dealer sales-, after-sales service- and product experience of their vehicles’ brands – and the percentages of purchase-price value the brands’ finalists retained after 3 years of ownership.
Toyota, which won the first #CarsAwards Brand of the Year title in 2015/16 and again in 2018/19, is now on a run of 3 consecutive victories. This year, Prospecton-based Toyota South Africa Motors top-scored with 77.2% to back up its Brand of the Year title wins in the 2020/21 and 2023/24 programmes.
But whereas it was a significant 9.2% ahead of the runner-up in 2023/24 (2-time Brand of the Year winner Suzuki), Toyota/Lexus finished only 0.6% ahead of Mini (76.6%), which had moved up 4 places in the past year to take 2nd spot. Isuzu, which improved by 5 places in 2024/25, finished 3rd with 75.3%.
“The Brand of the Year trophy is the ultimate accolade in the local automotive industry and represents validation from the people who matter most: car owners,” says Hannes Oosthuizen, the manager of the Cars.co.za Awards’ scoring process.
“By providing consistently superior after-sales support through the most extensive dealer network in the country, Toyota has put South African consumers first and – based on the feedback by thousands of vehicle owners – they appreciate that.”
Cars.co.za Showroom at Mall of Africa
Since the 2023/24 CarsAwards, the programme has incorporated a consumer experience element and, during the 3 days after the Awards gala, the 13 category winners and the other 2024/25 CarsAwards finalists will be on display at the Mall of Africa, which also hosted the 1st Awards Roadshow in 2023.
See also: Experience SA’s Best New Cars at Mall of Africa
At the Cars.co.za Showroom, sponsored by Absa (located at Waterfall City Park), the motoring public will be able to inspect and experience the finalist vehicles and get test rides in some of Mzansi’s best new cars. They’ll be able to engage with Cars.co.za advisers, dealers’ sales representatives, and #CarsAwards judges.
Absa finance specialists will also be at the Cars.co.za Showroom to advise prospective car buyers, who could buy their new cars, or at least initiate purchases, at the event.
The Cars Showroom from 28 Feb – 02 March promises fun for the enitre family, with live entertainment, competitions and giveaways, the Absa Car-aoke bar and more.
Follow the #CarsAwards on Cars.co.za, Facebook, X, Instagram and TikTok.
