Mini Cooper is Car of the Year-Philippines 2014-15. Ford Ranger wins Truck of the Year

AFTER extensive instrumented testing and voting, the Car Awards Group, Inc. (CAGI) awarded its Car of the Year-Philippines (COTY-P) honors to the Mini Cooper S hatchback, and the Truck of the Year-Philippines title to the Ford Ranger Wildtrak.

The Mini Cooper S was the fastest Mini tested at COTY-P so far, with performance rivaling that of sports cars from previous test fests. COTY-P noted that it was also more luxurious than previous Minis, its combination of power and luxury blowing away the competition.

Ford swept the Truck of the Year awards, with the new Ranger Wildtrak variants awarded both the Best 2WD Pick-up of the Year and Best 4WD Pick-up of the Year awards. The Ranger Wildtrak 3.2, with its all-new six-speed manual transmission, claimed the overall Truck of the Year award, repeating the win of the automatic Wildtrak 3.2 variant of the previous year.

With over 60 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 were done concurrently, in controlled areas within Filinvest City in Alabang.

Sixty four new or extensively revised vehicles were eligible for the awards, from the Toyota Wigo and Kia Picanto to the Rolls-Royce Ghost.

Composed of motoring journalists from print, broadcast, and new media, CAGI has been dishing out 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. Majority of the cars tested were in the subcompact class and below, allowing for a wider selection for first-time car owners.

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.

“Voting for the 2014-2015 COTY-P and TOTY-P was tough. The continually increasing improvements, value and competitiveness that each new model brought to their respective classes made discerning between standout and mid-pack very difficult,” said CAGI president Ferman Lao.

The winners:

Car of the Year: Mini Cooper S

Truck of the Year: Ford Ranger Wildtrak 3.2

Best Luxury Compact Car of the Year: Mini Cooper S

Best Micro Car of the Year: Toyota Wigo

Best Mini Car of the Year: Hyundai Grand i10

Best Basic Subcompact Car of the Year: Kia Rio 1.4 Sedan

Best Subcompact Car of the Year Honda City 1.5 E

Best Premium Subcompact Car of the Year Honda Jazz 1.5 V

Best Compact Car of the Year: Mazda 3 1.5 S Sedan

Best Premium Compact Car of the Year: Mazda 3 2.0R hatchback

Best Ultra-Luxury Car of the Year: Rolls-Royce Ghost

Best Midsize Car of the Year: Nissan Altima 2.5

Best Premium Midsize Car of the Year: Nissan Altima 3.5 V6

Best Compact Crossover ofthe Year: Nissan X-Trail 2.5 AWD

Best Compact Crossover of the Year: Kia Soul

Best Large Crossover of the Year: Ford Explorer Sport

Best Subcompact MPV of the Year: Suzuki Ertiga1.4 AT

Best Micro-Van of the year. BAIC MZ40

Best Large SUV of the Year: Toyota FJ Cruiser,

Best Midsize SUV of the Year: Isuzu mu-X 4×2 AT,

Best 2WD Pick-up of the Year: Ford Ranger Wildtrak

Best 4WD Pick-up of the Year: Ford Ranger Wildtrak

CAGI Motorsports Award: Toyota Vios Cup

SpeedLab Tuner’s Choice Award: Honda Jazz

AAP Road Safety Award: Volkswagen Touareg

Brother’s Burger Value for Money Award: BYD F0 GL-i

Filinvest Lifestyle Award: Rolls Royce Ghost,

The Manila International Auto Show Design Award: Volkswagen Beetle

The Caltex Techron Green Award: Honda Accord 3.5 V6

Spyder Philippines Innovation Award: Ford Ecosport 1.5 DCT