Capping off this year’s Testfest, the Car Awards Group, Inc. (CAGI) evaluated the final batch of sixteen nominees for 2015 Car of the Year – Philippines and Truck of the Year – Philippines last November 4, 2015 at the Fontana Convention Center. This brings the total number of vehicles competing for the plum awards to seventy-eight.
The fourth test day saw a gathering of European and Japanese luxury cars, sports cars, and supercars, along with some last minute additions to the entry list. Chevrolet, Toyota, and Hyundai all returned to enlist the Colorado 4×4 Tracker Pro, Camry 2.4S, and Sonata, respectively.
French marque Peugeot brought the 301 sedan and 2008 compact crossover. The British were well represented with no less than 6 brands on the list. MINI entered the Cooper JCW, Jaguar brought their XE 2.0 and F-Type R, Land Rover had the new Discovery Sport, Rolls Royce brought in the Wraith, Lotus had the Exige S Roadster, and Aston Martin had the Vantage V12S. Meanwhile, holding up the flag for the Italians were the Maserati Ghibli SQ4 and Ferrari California T. Last but not the least, Japanese luxury brand Lexus came in with the NX 200T F-Sport and RCF.
“CAGI has just completed the most thorough and critical consumer-oriented vehicle review process in the country. Under stringent supervision by KPMG, we combined the subjective and objective scores to determine which vehicles were truly outstanding.
We appreciate the trust and confidence from the car manufacturers and distributors shown by allowing the CAGI membership to test and thoroughly scrutinize their brand new cars. Our processing of almost 80 cars and trucks over the 4-day Testfest was both a valuable experience and a privilege. It sets the real-world performance benchmark for our motoring journalists to continue rating and comparing vehicles in the future.
Automotive design and manufacturing today, produces cars and trucks suitable for every type of consumer and purpose. Identifying a bad or unsafe product is ever more difficult in today’s market. The COTY Awards will recognize the best car or truck that stood out on a category and overall basis.
The car industry and consumers can be assured of an unbiased representation of a deserving COTY-P and TOTY-P winner at the Gala Awards Night on November 13 at the Fontana Hot Spring Leisure Parks, Clark Freeport Zone,” said Robby Consunji, president, Car Awards Group, Inc.
The 2015 Car of the Year – Philippines is co-presented by Carmudi Philippines and is made possible by event partners Fontana Hot Spring Leisure Parks & Casino, and R. G. Manabat & Co. / KPMG, and sponsors Bose, Air Asia, HitchPro, the Manila International Auto Show, Worldbex Services International, Manila North Tollways Corporation, North Luzon Expressway, Sonax, Ultra Modular Concepts, Inc. (UMCI), Romac Group of Companies, Columbia Sportswear, SpeedLab, and LG Electronics. Media partners include BusinessMirror, Malaya Business Insight, Manila Bulletin, Philippine Daily Inquirer and The Philippine Star.
The Car Awards Group, Inc. is represented by the following media entities: Business Mirror, Cebu Daily News, Daily Tribune, Malaya Business Insight, Manila Bulletin, Manila Times, Mindanao Daily News, Philippine Daily Inquirer, AQ Magazine, Brand Magazine, C! Magazine, Gadgets Magazine, Motorcycle Magazine, Power Wheels Magazine, Speed Magazine, Stuff Magazine, Top Gear Philippines, Autodeal.com.ph, Autoindustriya.com, CarGuide.ph, Carmudi.com.ph, Interaksyon.com, Kotse.com, ManilaSpeak.com, MotionCars.com, SprocketPH.com, TessDrive.com, TimeAttackManila.com, Yugatech.com, Auto Focus, Auto Review, Motoring Today, Stoplight TV, Motoring sa DZME, DZMM, The Motoring Page on Mellow 94.7 FM, and Inside Motoring on DZRJ 810 AM.