As the year draws to a close, the motoring circuit’s awards programmes start to swing into gear.

Among them are the Cars Awards sponsored by Absa and endorsed by Naamsa, the automotive business council. The awards first kicked off in 2015, and I have had the privilege of serving on the jury since 2018. The testing panel for the competition comprises leading journalists, content creators and influencers.

It is an exhaustive scoring process that encompasses just about every aspect of a car’s make-up, from warranty durations to ownership satisfaction surveys and, most crucially, physical evaluations at Gerotek’s gruelling assortment of circuits.

From the punishing suspension track which simulates corrugations and potholes to a mountain handling layout, as well as towing tasks and off-road sections, the Armscor-owned facility reveals any vehicle’s deficiencies and strengths.

As if that is not enough, the extreme summertime heat adds another layer of punishment to air-conditioning and cooling systems. This year we saw temperatures as high as 40ºC out there.

There are 13 categories in the competition and this year I was allocated to testing the contenders in five of those.

There is a lot to the Cars Awards selection process and criteria — check the full run-down on the platform’s website — and what follows is a (fairly) concise overview of my thoughts between each driving session.

FAMILY SUV

Chery Tiggo 8 Pro Max 2.0 TGDI 390T Executive AWD | R731,900

First drive of the day. Rich trims and veneers, chocolate brown cabin looks tasty. My heavy breathing in the 31ºC heat at 10am seemed to off the voice control, with the “digital assistant” asking for commands. Burned my fingers moving the metal-clad key fob from where it had been left, on the dashboard, in direct sunlight. Quite impressed by how well it tackled the suspension track. Grunt from the 2.0-litre in the middle-range is sufficient, but low-down, a bit flat. Outputs-wise, it is the most powerful car of the three contenders, on paper. “You have been distracted for a long time”, said the warning on the instrument cluster after I had just put in one of the most spirited, focused drives of my life on the mountainside circuit. Great rear legroom. Four pipes, but could not see presence of a spare wheel.

VW Tiguan 1.4 TSI R-Line | R766,300

Businesslike cabin, but textures and feeling of quality seems to have been dialed down versus the previous, pre-Dieselgate Tiguan. Burned fingers again with the hot key. The R-Line has a standard massage function, which I activated almost immediately. Upright dash with uncluttered crisp lines. And thank goodness for the return of physical buttons on steering wheel. Its 1.4-litre engine is punchy from the get-go, tractable and gutsy. Lacks the pliant buoyancy of the Tiggo where ride is concerned, but has a more dynamic character, with firmer suspension, sharp reflexes and composure in all environments. Brilliant chassis. Flat boot floor because there is no third seating row, unlike Tiggo.

Kia Sportage 1.6 CRDi GT-Line | R790,995

Interior is dark and is starting to look a bit dated. Interesting to hear diesel motor breathe into life — a rarity in this class. Stout performance. It sits somewhere between the Tiggo and Tiguan for ride comfort. Pleasant textures. Snug cabin feel. Lovely seats with form-hugging contours. Seems the smallest of the lot  in terms of interior space. It is the only car here with full-sized spare wheel. I sound a bit ambivalent about the Sportage, but it is undeniably good, and could be a dark horse here, specially with the ownership experience feedback weighted into the mix.

ULTIMATE DOUBLE CAB

Ford Ranger Raptor | R1,226,700

Driving a nearly-new unit with less than 1,000km on the clock. Feels taut and grafted down to the road, rolling on cartoonish wheels and fancy Fox shocks. Heavier steering than standard vehicle. Trick suspension allowed me to tackle suspension track at twice the speed of passenger cars. Looking up, I was surprised to see the speedometer showing 100km/h over corrugations — the car did not break a sweat. Six-cylinder sound is simply wonderful. Pulls strong with a trailer too. Effortless off-road ability. Busy relaxing and one-arming it over obstacles, while the on-board computer indicates a hellish 39ºC.

Ineos Quartermaster | R1,717,100

First drove it through Baviaanskloof in the Eastern Cape — romance of the mountains, campfire and tented lodgings prompted one to focus more on its adventure potential instead of real-world drawbacks. Gerotek shake-down emphasises the bakkie’s shortcomings. Unforgiving hard ride, vibrating load-bin, buttons that have a chunky design but are flimsy when depressed, astonishingly wide turning circle, low-range shifter lever that feels like a contraption from early industrialisation era. A hugely charming but deeply frustrating apparatus. Top marks for authenticity though, since the aim was to make it feel like an original Defender. Most enjoyable bit about the car is the BMW-sourced six-cylinder motor.

Toyota Hilux GR-S III | R999,000

Contrasted with the narrow, button-festooned Ineos cabin, the Hilux felt as familiar as stepping into your grandmother’s kitchen. Grandma’s kitchen after it received a sporty makeover, of course. Does not have the grunt and acoustics of the 3.0-litre Ford, the lack of steam was quite evident during towing test. But proved to be nimbler than both its rivals here in the handling tests, showing an eagerness to slide its butt out on the wet road driving portions. Tough feel off-road, does not extricate occupants from the jiggles as nicely as the Ford, but nor does it punish them as severely as Quartermaster. Seems to represent the sensible middle-ground in this company, specially from a pricing perspective.

ELECTRIC VEHICLE

BMW iX1 xDrive30 M Sport | R1,245,000

Feels like a BMW, with its sharp reflexes and chunky steering wheel. Serenity from the get-go, rolling off in complete silence. An easy-to-use character without glaring quirks or niggles. Could say the same of just about any X1 derivative — the German brand nailed it with the brief on this one. But its substantial price premium over the other two cars here is hard to ignore.

Volvo EX30 Plus Twin Motor Performance | R1,055,900

Had my reservations about the EX30, as you may have read before. Focusing less on the finicky tech and instead on negotiating Gerotek allowed me to better enjoy strengths,  like the sensational acceleration. Handles reasonably well too. But suspension and damping are not as polished as the BMW. It was shaken apart on Belgian paving and washboard surfaces. Dislike the permanently open panoramic roof. Sparse and cold cabin ambience feels akin to sitting in one of those Visa application centres with the metal chairs. Let me not bore you with another rant about the infotainment system in this car.

Mini Countryman SE ALL4 | R1,086,000

Knew I was in a Mini from the first whimsical “bong” I heard on start-up. The iX1 was pleasant in that typically sober BMW way, the EX30 is swift but soulless. The Mini felt like a breath of fresh air, inducing a massive grin with its oversized circular central cluster and cheerful blue-oyster-orange interior colours. Its acoustic signature is novel, without being cheesy, and it matches the BMW in just about every metric, since the two share basic architecture. But it costs about R200,000 less. Lovely.

EXECUTIVE SUV

Lexus NX 450+ F Sport | R1,336,200

Test unit had a delectable red leather interior execution which looked fetching. Layout may look a tad out of date for some — but if you like buttons and dials, right up your alley. Textbook Lexus refinement, with a creamy feel and well-ironed ride even with the fitment of F-Sport garb. Hybridised powertrain is responsive, CVT gets the job done, but not without the same alacrity as the conventional automatics found in the Germans.

Mercedes-Benz GLC 300d 4MATIC AMG Line | R1,504,599

Diesel starts up seamlessly, minimal vibrations but the gruff note is quite audible. Dark cabin, serious vibe, but exquisite finishes, with minimalist ambience dominated by two screens. Noticeable creaks, specially on poor road simulations. Assuredly hefty feel on the handling front, steering has a definite weight. Shove from the 2.0-litre unit is strong.

BMW X3 30e xDrive M Sport | R1,310,000

BMW had made efforts to provide a unit of the new X3 off the Rosslyn production line, but there were delays and it arrived after some jurors had already left. The vehicle was tested and scored at Gerotek, by Cars’ editorial team, in substitution.

LEISURE DOUBLE CAB

Ford Ranger 2.0 SiT XLT 4×4 auto | R732,600

The current Ranger is highly acclaimed for good reason. Car-like cabin with road manners to match, it shuns the agricultural hues usually associated with a ladder-frame vehicle. The 2.0-litre single-turbocharged diesel represents the sweet spot in range, though felt a tad gutless when hooked up to a trailer. Ride quality proved excellent, off-road systems and light steering allows the driver to saunter over tough obstacles without much sweat. Audible whine from the differential with low-range engaged, a feature not exhibited by the other two models here.

Isuzu D-Max 1.9 LS 4×4 auto | R750,200

Versus the creamy-smooth Ranger, the Isuzu has texture of a tough tomahawk steak. Hard materials, insulation that allows the 1.9-litre’s gravelly vocals to filter in and a heavy steering system. If the Ford felt gutless with a trailer, then the D-Max was positively flaccid with the 600kg rolling load affixed. Felt robust off-road. Test unit had a glove box that refused to stay shut.

Toyota Hilux 2.4 GD-6 Raider 4×4 | R716,300

A really battle-hardened specimen on test, with more than 23,000km on its odometer. Still, quite impressed by how tight it felt — no rattles or loose trim. The 2.4-litre pulls strong without load, but we could not perform towing test as the unit supplied lacked a tow bar. No hill descent control in the Raider, but the vehicle still gave an unbreakable impression negotiating ruts and rocks. The Hilux may not get points for polish and refinement, but one easily understands why it has become synonymous with durability.