The countdown to the announcement of the winners of the Cars.co.za Consumer Awards winners – powered by WesBank, has begun. Here are the 39 finalists (3in each of the 13 respective categories) that stand a chance of winning trophies in Johannesburg on January 19 2017.

The finalists were selected from a group of 65 cars that the seven members of the Cars.co.za editorial team agreed were the best derivatives available in the South African new vehicle market on 1 September 2016.

To reduce the selection of vehicles per category from 5to 3, the same team ranked the contenders against predetermined pillars of success in each category. No fewer than 18 brands are represented in the list of finalists and 27 of the final 39 vehicles are produced by German and Japanese marques. The BMW Group, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen lead the nominations with 5derivatives apiece, while Toyota South Africa Motors and Jaguar Land Rover SA have 4each.

The 3rdphase of the Cars.co.za Consumer Awards – powered by WesBank took place in early November 2016 when a combined judging panel (the Cars.co.za test team and seven guest judges) evaluated the finalists back-to-back during a 2-day testing session at Gerotek.

Survey results critical to final outcome

However, the findings of the 14 judges will only count for half of the finalists’ total scores – the remaining 50% will be based on rankings that the respective vehicles’ brands achieved in the Cars.co.za Ownership Satisfaction Survey, in partnership with leading data specialists Lightstone Consumer. The data incorporates feedback from tens of thousands of vehicle owners, based on their experiences of their vehicles (must be less than 5years old and serviced through franchised outlets).

"We are confident that we have very strong candidates in each category, though they're not always strong for the same reasons. It will be fascinating to see how the judges – our own and the external panel – vote, and what impact the Cars.co.za Ownership Satisfaction Survey's data will have," says Cars.co.za Consumer Experience Manager Hannes Oosthuizen.

"The scene is set for a very interesting final test routine and judging," he adds. “We urge all South African car owners to complete the survey. We want real, credible input, and the only way to do that is for the public to give us their views on the cars they know best – the ones they own.”

The finalists are (in no particular order):

Budget car(less than R160000)

Suzuki Celerio 1.0 GLRenault Sandero ExpressionToyota Aygo X-Play

Read more about thesemi-finalists in this category

Compact hatchback(between R160 000 and R250000)

Honda Jazz 1.2 ComfortOpel Corsa 1.0T EnjoyVolkswagen Polo 1.2 TSI Comfortline

Read more about the semi-finalists in this category

Compact family car (between R250 000 and R350000)

Nissan Qashqai 1.2 VisiaRenault Captur dCi 90 DynamiqueSuzuki Vitara 1.6 GL+

Read more about the semi-finalists in this category

Family car (between R350 000 and R500 000)

Hyundai Tucson 2.0 NU Elite AutoNissan X-Trail 2.5 SE CVT AWDVolkswagen Tiguan 1.4 TSI Comfortline DSG

Read more about the semi-finalists in this category

Performance car (between R600 000 and R1 000000)

BMW M2 M-DCTMercedes-AMG A45 4MATICFord Focus RS

Read more about the semi-finalistsin this category

Premium hatchback (between R350 000 and R500000)

BMW 120i M Sport sports-autoVW Golf GTI DSGMercedes-Benz A220d Style

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Fun car (less than R600000)

Mazda MX-5Mini JCW autoVW Golf GTI Clubsport

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LifestyleSUV (between R500 000 and R750000)

Ford Everest 3.2 LTDToyota Fortuner 2.8 GD-6 4×4 AutoLand Rover Discovery Sport TD4 SE

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Executive sedan (between R750 000 and R1 000000)

Jaguar XF 25t PortfolioLexus GS350 F-SportMercedes-Benz E220d Avantgarde

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First class(more than R1000000)

Mercedes-Benz S500e LWBBMW 750Li Design Pure ExcellenceRange Rover SDV8 Autobiography LWB

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Leisure double cab(more than R450000)

Ford Ranger 3.2 Wildtrak 4×4 AutoToyota Hilux 2.8 GD-6 4×4 Raider AutoVW Amarok 2.0 BiTDI 4Motion Highline Auto

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Business class(betweenR500 000 and R750000)

Audi A4 2.0T FSI Sport S-tronicBMW 330d M Sport sports-autoMercedes-Benz C250 AMG Line

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PremiumSUV (between R750 000 and R1 200000)

Audi Q7 3.0 TDI QuattroJaguar F-PACE 30d R-SportVolvo XC90 T8 Twin Engine Inscription

Read more about the semi-finalists in this category

Members of the public can follow developments of the Cars.co.za Consumer Awards – powered by WesBank (such as the respective phases of the judging process) on Cars.co.za’s channels. Related content will feature the #CarsAwards hashtag.

More information on the programme, including its categories, judges and finalists is available on the Cars.co.za Consumer Awards – powered by WesBank website.