Power Wheels Magazine A Notch Above
The search for the 2016 Car and Truck of the Year Philippines has finally come to an end as the Car Awards Group, Inc. (CAGI), the country’s premier automotive award-giving body, announced this year’s roster of winners. Honda’s all-new Civic RS Turbo CVT was named the 2016 CAGI and Carmudi.com.ph Car of the Year – Philippines (COTY-PH) while the Isuzu D-MAX 3.0L 4×2 LS AT took the title as the 2016 CAGI and Carmudi.com.ph Truck of the Year – Philippines (TOTY-PH).
The awardees were honored at ceremonies held on November 21, 2016, at the One Rockwell East Tower in Makati City.
The Honda Civic RS Turbo CVT was awarded the 2016 CAGI and Carmudi.com.ph Car of the Year – Philippines title, besting 64 other nominees in the car segment. It also won the Best Compact Car category for 2016. The award comes exactly 11 years since a previous generation Civic won the prestigious title in 2005.
Meanwhile, the Isuzu D-MAX 3.0L 4×2 LS AT not only won the coveted CAGI and Carmudi.com.ph Truck of the Year – Philippines award, but also the Best 2WD Pickup. The Mitsubishi Strada 2.4L GT 4×4 AT, on the other hand, earned the Best 4WD Pickup award.
There were also other car category winners. The Suzuki Ciaz GL 1.4 M/T won as the Best Subcompact Car of the Year, the Honda Civic RS Turbo also won the Best Compact Car of the Year, the Audi S3 Saloon 2.0 TFSI Quattro as the Luxury Compact Car of the Year, the Mazda6 SKYACTIV Diesel Sedan as the Mid-Size Car of the Year, the Volkswagen Passat 2.0 TSI DSG Business Edition as the Luxury Mid-Side Car of the Year, and the Mazda6 Sports Wagon topped the newly added Wagon category. One of the most enthralling entries this year was the Nissan GT-R Premium that was aptly recognized as the Best Sport Car of the Year.
The growing number of new crossovers and SUVs in the market today made up for seven of the categories. Starting from the smallest in size, the Mazda CX-3 FWD Sport was named as the Best Compact Crossover SUV while the larger Mazda CX-5 SKYACTIV Diesel AWD received the Best Crossover SUV of the Year award. The Best Luxury Mid-Size Crossover SUV went to the Lexus RX 350 Premier. As for SUVs, the Mitsubishi Montero Sport won both the 2WD and 4WD categories with the GLS 2.4D 2WD AT and GT 2.4D 4WD AT variants, respectively.
Mitsubishi also took the Best Premium SUV of the Year award with the Pajero GLS 3.2 Di-D 4WD AT. Finally, the Maserati Levante Diesel took home the Best Luxury SUV of Year trophy.
Finding the best people and cargo carriers, the Best MPV category went to the Haima V70 1.5L+6AT Deluxe, the Best Premium MPV to the Honda Odyssey EX CVT, and the newly-added Best Commercial Utility award to the Suzuki Super Carry Utility Van 0.8L DDIS Turbo Diesel.
Aside from the category winners, CAGI sponsors also presented special awards to entries that really stood out this year:
NUVALI Green Car Award
Honda Legend 3.5 Sport Hybrid SH-AWD
MOTOLITE Class M Award
Hyundai 2.0 Tucson CRDi GLS 6AT 2WD
Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. Best Safety Award
Volkswagen Passat 2.0 TSI DSG Business Edition
Speedlab Tuner’s Choice Award
Honda Civic RS Turbo CVT
Manila International Auto Show Best Design Award
Nissan GT-R Premium
“The COTY Awards is not simply a show of hands or popularity contest. It’s the only award in the country that is based on instrumented tests to gather evidence of real world acceleration, braking, and handling performance. No other organization employs such stringent testing methods to determine their COTY winners. After the number crunching by KPMG R.G. Manabat & Co., this data driven, unbiased program, ensures an accurate representation of an outstanding vehicle on category and overall basis. We trust that the COTY Awards will guide you in purchasing your next motor vehicle,” said Robby Consunji, President, Car Awards Group, Inc.
Established in 2004, the CAGI is the longest-running organization of motoring journalists in the country today. It’s current membership has representatives from the following media entities: Business Mirror, Cebu Daily News, Daily Tribune, Malaya Business Insight, Manila Bulletin, Philippine Daily Inquirer, The Manila Times, Bulgar, Mindanao Daily News, AQ Magazine, Autocar.PH, C! Magazine, Motorcycle Magazine, Power Wheels Magazine, Top Gear Philippines, 2nerMagazine.com, Carmudi.com.ph, Ignition.ph, InterAksyon.com, Kotse.com, ManilaSpeak.com, MotionCars.com, Ride and Drive Phils., Speed by MP Turbo, SprocketPh.com, TessDrive.com, TimeAttackManila.com, Yugatech.com, DZMM, Mellow 94.7, Motoring sa DZME 1530 AM, #TheMotoringPage on Mellow 94.7 FM, ABS-CBN, Auto Review, and Stoplight TV.
The 2016 CAGI Car of the Year Awards is co-presented by Carmudi.com.ph and was made possible by partner KPMG R.G. Manabat & Co. Other sponsors include Ayala Land Premier; NUVALI; Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation; Motolite Batteries; El Cielito Hotel – Sta. Rosa; Manila International Auto Show; Worldbex International; and Speedlab. Drinks at the Awards Night was provided by Johnnie Walker. Official media partners include BusinessMirror, BusinessWorld, Malaya Business Insight, Manila Bulletin, Philippine Daily Inquirer, The Manila Times, The Philippine Star, Auto Review, Turbo Zone, and JamesDeakin.ph.