The Car Awards Group, Inc. (CAGI) recently held its 2014-2015 testfest to determine this year’s Car of the Year-Philippines and Truck of the Year-Philippines awardees.
With over sixty entries for consideration for this year’s honors, the testing was conducted over four days, with the Filinvest Tent serving as the staging area. Both the qualitative and quantitative testing was done concurrently, in controlled areas within Filinvest City in Alabang.
A total of fifteen vehicles from the BAIC, Honda, Kia, TATA, and Toyota brands arrived on the first day of testing. New player BAIC brought in the sedan and hatchback versions of the A113 1.3L and A115 1.5L; Honda bets were the 1.5 CVT variants of the City and the Jazz; Kia brought the Picanto 1.2AT, Rio 1.4MT, and Soul 1.6AT CRDi; TATA had the diesel trifecta with their Vista compact sedan, Indica subcompact hatchback, and Manza; and Toyota brought along the Yaris 1.5AT subcompact hatchback.
Great weather conditions carried over to the second testing day, where another fifteen cars were processed. Mazda paraded the Mazda 3 Speed HB, Mazda 3 2.0 R HB, and Mazda 3 1.5 sedan; BYD Philippines boasted three hatchbacks in the F0 1.0 GLi MT, F0 1.0 GLX-i MT, and F0 1.0 GLX-i AMT, and a manual and automatic variant of the L3 1.5 sedan; Ford brought in the 1.5L Ecosport Titanium; Hyundai Philippines flaunted the Grand i10; Nissan demonstrated the Sylphy 1.8 sedan; Suzuki showed off the Swift 1.2 hatchback; Toyota bragged their Wigo 1.0 MT and Corolla Altis 1.6 V; and the first-time participant Volkswagen strutted the brand’s Polo 1.5 TDi sedan.
The third testing day saw twelve vehicles, kicked off with the BAIC MZ40 minivan; BYD offered the S6 MT; Isuzu had variants of the D-MAX pickup and the new mu-X SUV; Nissan included the all-new 2.5L X-Trail; Peugeot showcased the Expert Tepee MPV; Suzuki came with the Ertiga LUV; and Volkswagen brought their 2.0 Tiguan and Touran SUVs.
The final day of testing had a record twenty-two cars for testing. BAIC arrived with the X424 SUV; BYD brought their new dual-clutch transmission S6; Ford returned with the newest Ranger Wildtrak variants, the 2.2L 4WD AT and 3.2L six-speed MT, as well as the Explorer with a new V6 EcoBoost engine powered by 365 horses; newcomer Haima offered their M3 gasoline sedan; Honda rallied with the Brio and Brio Amaze siblings and two Accord V6 variants; Hyundai exhibited the midsize crossover Santa Fe; Mini showcased their Cooper S hatchback; Nissan brought in the 2.5L and 3.5L versions of the Altima; first-timer Rolls Royce sent in their Ghost that left testers in awe with its mix of power and luxury; Toyota presented the 4WD SUV FJ Cruiser; and finally, Volkswagen brought in the rest of their lineup, the Beetle, Touareg, and the Jetta.
Composed of motoring journalists from print, broadcast, and new media, CAGI has been giving a decade’s worth of awards to the most outstanding vehicles available in the market, and in the process, has been raising consumer awareness by enabling them to make informed choices. The Awards Night is scheduled on November 25, Tuesday, at the Filinvest Tent, Alabang.
The 2014-2015 Car of the Year Philippines is supported by Caltex with Techron, Filinvest City Alabang, the Manila International Auto Show, Worldbex Services International, SpeedLab, AAP, Brother’s Burger, Victoria Court, Team Spyder, Columbia Sportswear, MG Madrid & Company, Icubus Solutions, and Winner Graphics.
The Car Awards Group, Inc. is supported by the following media partners: Business Mirror, BusinessWorld, Daily Tribune, Malaya Business Insight, Manila Bulletin, Manila Standard Today, Manila Times, Philippine Daily Inquirer, The Philippine Star, World News, AQ, Brand Magazine, C! Magazine, Gadgets Magazine, Motorcycle Magazine, PowerWheels Magazine, Speed Magazine, TopGear Philippines, Autoindustriya.com, AutoLocoPinas.com, CarGuide.ph, Interaksyon.com, Kotse.com, ManilaSpeak.com, Motioncars.com, SprocketPH.com, Auto Focus, Auto Review, Motoring Today, Stoplight TV, FM, Inside Motoring on DZRJ 810 AM, and The Motoring Page on Mellow 94.7 FM.