The search for the 2015 Car of the Year – Philippines and Truck of the Year – Philippines has now passed the half way point as the Car Awards Group, Inc. (CAGI) successfully wrapped up its second day of testing. With one of the biggest turnouts in one day, a total of 28 vehicles braved the impending storm and went through qualitative and quantitative testing last October 17, 2015, at the Fontana Convention Center. This brings the total to 43 nominees that have so far bid for both prestigious awards.
The selection of vehicles consisted of entries from eight manufacturers: BAIC, Ford, Haima, Hyundai, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, and Suzuki.
BAIC’s candidates were the pair of M20 and MZ45 vans. Ford brought with them the all-new Escape, the 4×2 and 4×4 versions of the all-new Everest, and defending 2-time Truck of the Year winner the Ranger 2.2 XLT and Ranger 3.2 Wildtrak. Haima, on the other hand, showed off their new S5 1.5L CVT crossover. It was all crossover entry-list for Hyundai with the two variants of all-new i20 Cross Sport and three for the all-new Tucson.
The biggest fleet of the test day came from Mazda that added no less than eight cars to the list. This included the Mazda 2 SkyActiv R sedan, Mazda 2 SkyActiv V hatchback, Mazda 6 Sports Sedan, Mazda 6 Sports Wagon, CX-5 FWD PRO, CX-5 AWD Sport, and the eye-catching pair of MX-5 Roadsters in manual and automatic versions.
Mitsubishi returned from the previous week, this time with the updated ASX, while Nissan’s entries were the NV350 Urvan, NP300 Navara 4×2 and 4×4, and the Juke compact crossover. Last but not the least, Suzuki is contesting this year with the all-new Celerio.
Like in the previous test day, the Qualitative testing had all CAGI members drive all participating vehicles around a designated route around the Clark Freeport Zone. Each nominee was then scored according to factors such as design, fit and finish, ergonomics, comfort, access, driving dynamics, response, and functionality. The Quantitative test, on the other hand, were left in the hands of CAGI’s Technical Team, who measured each vehicle’s performance on a safe closed track aided by a Racelogic Vbox GPS data logger. The VBox is internationally recognized as a quality standard in automotive testing.
“CAGI is thankful for the support from the car manufacturers and distributors for entering their vehicles into the most thorough and critical consumer-oriented vehicle review process in the country. Under stringent supervision by KPMG, we combine the subjective and objective scores to determine which vehicle is truly outstanding” said CAGI president Robby Consunji. “The consumers can be assured of an unbiased representation of a deserving COTY-P and TOTY–P winner at the Awards Night on November 13 at Fontana” he added.
The 2015 Car of the Year – Philippines 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.
The final round of testing is scheduled for Tuesday, October 27, 2015.