Cagi wraps up testing for year’s best vehicles

Members of the Car Awards Group, Inc. gather in front the vehicles tested last Oct. 25 and 26 at the Nuvali Evoliving Center in Laguna (GRABBED FROM CAGI FACEBOOK PAGE).

The best vehicles of the year will soon be known as the Car Awards Group, Inc. (Cagi) wrapped up its final day of testing for the Philippines’ Car of the Year and Truck of the Year plums yesterday at the Nuvali Evoliving Center in Laguna.

A total of 72 vehicles were put through their paces in search for this year’s best of the best. The first two batches held last Oct. 25 and 26 had 46 entries while the final day had 26 more vehicles tested.

The category winners and the prestigious Car of the Year and Truck of the Year will be announced in an Awards Night on Nov. 21.

The Mazda2 Skyactiv and the Nissan NP300 Navara were last year’s big winners.
As required by Cagi test guidelines, the qualitative (consumer) testing was done on public roads and used predetermined consumer metrics such as ride, fit, and feel.

On the other hand, the quantitative (technical) testing which involves GPS-based hardware to measure acceleration, braking, and handling, was done in a secured area blocked off to the public and guarded by NUVALI security.

Day one was an assortment of small to mid-sized vehicles. Categories tested were the sub-compact cars (Chevy Sail, Nissan Almera, Suzuki Ciaz, Tata Indigo, Toyota Vios and Yaris); compact cars (Honda Civic, Mazda 3, Volkswagen Golf); mid-sized cars (Honda Accord, Mazda 6, Subaru Levorg); and the MPVs (Honda Odyssey, Kia Carnival, Ssangyong Rodius, Toyota Innova).

Day two was allotted for the more versatile categories: the compact crossovers (Kia, Soul, Mazda CX-3, Ssangyong Tivoli); the crossovers (BYD S7, Haima S5, Kia Sportage, Mazda CX-5, Ssangyong Korando), SUVs (Chevrolet Trailblazer, Honda Pilot, Mitsubishi Montero Sport and Pajero, Toyota Fortuner), and the pickup trucks vying for the 2016 TOTY-PH (Chevrolet Colorado, Isuzu D-Max, Mitsubishi Strada).

Established in 2004, the Cagi is the longest-running organization of motoring journalists in the country today. For the second year in a row, internationally respected auditing firm KPMG R.G. Manabat & Co. is in charge of all the data handling during the testing process. This includes the gathering, tabulation, and up to the final audit and release of the official results.

Also back this season is co-presenter Carmudi.com.ph, the online vehicle marketplace designed to make buying or selling your vehicle online as stress-free as possible. Carmudi.com.ph offers a lowest-price guarantee for both cash purchases and financing schemes.

Other sponsors include Ayala Land Premier, NUVALI, Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation, Motolite Batteries, El Cielito Hotel – Sta. Rosa, Manila International Auto Show, Worldbex Services International (Official Fan Page), and Speedlab. Official media partners include BusinessMirror, BusinessWorld, Malaya Business Insight Online, MANILA BULLETIN, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Philippine Star, AUTO REVIEW, Turbo Zone, and JamesDeakin.ph.

The Car Awards Group, Inc. has members from the following media entities: Business Mirror, Cebu Daily News, The Daily Tribune, Malaya Business Insight, Manila Bulletin, Philippine Daily Inquirer, The Manila Times, BULGAR, Mindanao Daily News, AQ Magazine, Autocar Philippines, C! Magazine, Motorcycle Magazine, Power Wheels Magazine, Top Gear Philippines, 2Ner Magazine, Carmudi.com.ph, ignition.ph, InterAksyon, Kotse.com, Manila Speak, motioncars.com, Ride And Drive Philippines, Speed by MP Turbo, Sprocketph.com, TessDrive, Time Attack Manila, YugaTech, DZMM, Mellow 94.7, Motoring sa DZME, The Motoring Page on Mellow 94.7 FM, ABS-CBN, Auto Review, and Stoplight TV.