The oohs- and-aahs were heard throughout the night at Gallagher Estate yesterday.
Not even the pouring rain could dampen the ceremony and the moods of well-wishers. In my Setswana idiom when it rains it’s a sign of good deed.
The panel which consisted of the South African Guild of Motoring Journalists, had the tumultuous task of deciding who will be this years’ winner and unsurprisingly so, the Elantra Hyundai came out tops.
Ten finalists were decided after a two-day evaluation at Gerotek test facility near Pretoria, having been evaluated by 30 strong and dedicated COTY judges.
Elantra outwitted strong contenders in the form of Alfa Romeo Giulietta 1.4 125 kW MultiAir Distinctive; Audi A6 3.0T TDI Quattro S tronic; Citroen DS4 THP 200 Sport; Ford Focus 2.0 TDCI Trend Powershift; Kia Picanto 1.2 EX; Mercedes Benz SLK 350; Peugeot 5008 2.0 HDi Active; Suzuki Kizashi 2.4 SDLX and VW Jetta 1.4 TSI 118 kW Highline.
Addressing guests who were dressed to the nines- Managing Director at Hyundai SA, Allan ”The Zulu” Ross, waxed lyrically when he said this was long coming after being pipped by other competitors last year.
Albeit, this time he ‘forgot’ to address the audience in his Zulu mantra- so he said- Ross in his own words said:”We at Hyundai SA have always believed that competition is good because it keeps you on your toes. This good news is testimony to our beliefs, hardwork and team effort at our company.”
“Last year we lost out with a small margin due to ‘technical glitches’ but perhaps this year the judges, which are COTY members realized the mistake they did last year, “he said jokingly.
Now that Elantra is the talk of town, we await the market performance stats.
Amen!
