Car of the Year finalists announced

Here they are: the 2013 SA Car of the Year finalists. The 12 finalists were chosen from no fewer than 27 semi-finalists and were decided by a vote cast by a 29-member jury, elected by the South African Guild of Motoring Journalists.

The finalist are (in alphabetical order):

BMW 3 Series 320i Automatic Ford Ranger 3.2 XLT 4X4 Double Cab Diesel AT Hyundai i30 1.8 Executive Kia Rio 1.4 TEC Hatch MT Lexus GS 350 EX Mercedes-Benz B 180 CDI BlueEfficiency Nissan Juke 1.6 DIG-T Tekna (Leather) Opel Meriva 1.4T Cosmo Porsche Boxster Range Rover Evoque Si4 Dynamic 5-door Toyota 86 High Spec 6MT Toyota Yaris 1.5 HSD Xs

The next step will be to determine the winner from a two-day test session to be held in February 2013 at the Gerotek test facility near Pretoria, where the jury members will assess the cars independently.

The vehicles will be evaluated under the conditions they would be expected to perform in, over routes similar to how the average owner would use them.

South Africa's Car of the Year competition, sponsored for the past 28 years by WesBank with additional support from Total and Hollard Insurance, is unique in that it is determined by three rounds of voting.

The first round is open to all full members of the South African Guild of Motoring Journalists, while the second round of voting, which determines the finalists, is open only to the jury members.

After the two-day test sessions at Gerotek, the jury's final allocation of points is tallied and audited before the winner is announced.

The winner of the 2013 Car of the Year will be revealed at a gala banquet in March 2013.

- iol.co.za/motoring