CAGI Awards Maiden Motorcycle of the Year – Philippines Winners; 2017 Cars and Trucks Recognized Anew

After 13 years of recognizing the best car and truck models on the Philippine automotive stage, Car Awards Group Inc. (CAGI) finally shares the spotlight to its two-wheel counterparts with the awarding of the first-ever Motorcycle of the Year Philippines (MOTY-P) this 2017.

Named as the very first of the said prestigious accolade at C3 Place in Greenhills, San Juan City last November 27, 2017 were the following:

• The Suzuki Raider R150 FI: CAGI and Carmudi.com.ph Motorcycle of the Year-Philippines Commuter Class (299 cc & below)
• Suzuki GSX-R 1000 R: CAGI and Carmudi.com.ph Motorcycle of the Year-Philippines Leisure Class (300 cc & above)
• The Suzuki Raider R150 FI was clearly hands down the winner in the Commuter Class (299 cc & below) as it was downright slick and stylish not to mention being gifted with a fuel-injection system that can rival other larger bikes was its biggest asset.

On the other hand, the Suzuki GSX-R 1000 R indeed lived up to its title as “King of Superbikes”, as it did not only turn heads because of its suave sporty design or cringed every nerve in the body for its orgasmic and superior mechanical prowess but absolutely put competition to a halt as it was deemed the safest among all motorcycles tested. Hence, hail to the king.

“Finally, after months of challenges just to stage the very first Motorcycle of the Year-Philippines, we’ve eventually come up with the results,” CAGI Ronald de los Reyes said in his speech.

“This is just the beginning. CAGI in Japanese means ‘key’. Hence, our name stands for something—that we serve as a key to opening new doors for the two-wheel industry. We remain positive at every turn,” he added.

Meanwhile; announced as the proud winner of the much-coveted 2017 CAGI and Carmudi.com.ph Car of the Year Philippines title was the Honda CR-V 1.6 SX Diesel after just clawing its way to the top and coming down to the wire in a tight tabulation of over-all results with other two highly competitive finalists in the Volkswagen Jetta BE+ and the Suzuki Vitara GLX.

This top winner first edged out other rivals in its crossover AWD class, such as the Nissan X-trail, Mazda CX-5 and the Volkswagen Tiguan before going up the ranks to compete for the top crown. Having the local consumers’ preference in mind, testers, in particular, were more focused on the essentials and thus, was primarily in tune with what the CR-V 1.6 SX Diesel was offering—high-quality interior and a number of unique distinct features that render it to stand out among the rest.

The 2017 CAGI and Carmudi.com.ph Truck of the Year- Philippines award, on the other hand, was bestowed to the Mitsubishi Strada GLS 4×4 MT after besting the Isuzu D-Max 4×2 in a likewise fierce rubber match of pick-up trucks.

After topping their respective categories, the two went head-to-head in fit, feel, form and functionality with the prior just winning by a hairline in terms of interior quality and the like.

“Like what we stated prior the testing that this year’s line-up of vehicles was composed mostly of crossovers, it then eventually justified the outcome. In the history of CAGI, it was the first time that a crossover vehicle won over-all. Hence, it only means to show that manufacturers now are continuously improving their products to be able to fit the needs of the market. For Filipinos nowadays, they want vehicles that are not too big, not too small, but just right,” de los Reyes conveyed.

“Thus, congratulations to all the winners.”

CAGI has etched six exhausting days in the calendar in a span of three months for the testing of all the new cars, pick-up trucks and motorcycles (three days for cars and trucks, three days for motorcycles) at Ayala Land Premier’s newest development down in Taguig, Arca South.

In this manner, after being scrutinized under the careful eye of the testers and the strict, rigorous process of partner auditing firm KPMG R.G. Manabat & Co., 41 cars and trucks together with more than fifty motorcycles were put in a seemingly torture chamber to be able to come up with best among the rest.

Thus, coming home victorious in the car, truck and motorcycle segments are the following:

The awarding ceremonies were also only made possible with the strong partnership with co-presenter Carmudi Philippines, together with the support of Ayala Land Premier, Arca South, NLEX Corporation, Worldbex Services International, Manila International Auto Show and SEC.

This was in collaboration with Car Awards Group, Inc. and its media partners: Business Mirror, Manila Bulletin, Philippines Graphic Magazine, Philippine Star, Cook Magazine, Malaya Business Insight, The Manila Times, JamesDeakin.ph, Carmudi.com.ph, Home Radio, DWIZ, Motortech.ph, ANC, TurbanRider.com, Motorsiklo Xklusibo, RidePh, Jap Media, Lifestyle on Wheels, Wheels Philippines, Makina and Aliw Media Group.

CAGI has members from the following media entities: Business Mirror, Cebu Daily News, Daily Tribune, Malaya Business Insight, Manila Bulletin, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Philippine Star, The Manila Times, Bulgar, Mindanao Daily News, AQ Magazine, Autocar Philippines, C! Magazine, Carmudi Magazine Philippines, Motorcycle Magazine, Power Wheels Magazine, Speed Magazine, Top Gear Philippines, Wheels & Gears Magazine, 2nerMagazine.com, Ignition.ph, InterAksyon.com, Kotse.com, ManilaSpeak.com, MotionCars.com, Ride and Drive Phils., Speed by MP Turbo, SprocketPh.com, TessDrive.com, DZMM, Inside Motoring on DZRJ 810 AM, Mellow 94.7, Motoring sa DZME, The Motoring Page on Mellow 94.7 FM, ABS-CBN, Manila Street Kings, Real World Drive and Auto Review.