The first ever ASEAN Car of the Year Awards, an unprecedented collaboration between motoring journalists from Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand, officially reveals its list of nominated finalists ahead of its announcement of winners scheduled to take plac in the fourth quarter of this year.
Nominations are spread among 22 different categories, ranging from car segments to MPVs and SUV as well as premium variants among others. All vehicles currently on sale were considered for nomination, and finalists were selected by a panel of judges from various motoring media publications across the three countries.
Logistics of organizing of the award are spearheaded by our peers from iCar Asia, but the panel of judges from Malaysia alone comprise of no less than 15 judges, 12 of them being automotive journalists hailing from publications not affiliated with the company.
The line-up of judges consist of Kon from Autoworld.com.my, Chips Yap of Motor Trader, Gan Yong Li of Pandulaju,com, Denis Wong of Countersteer.my, GC Mah and Matthew Tong of Autobuzz.my, Johan Izham and Qhalis Najmi of Traffic Mag Online, Kenneth Sow of Kensomuse, Tom Goh of Zerotohundred, Vishal of NST CBT, and Yap Kam Foo of Top Gear Malaysia‘s Chinese language edition. From the iCar team, Daniel Wong of Malaysian EVO, Hans Cheong of Live Life Drive, and Chris Aaron of Carlist.my complete the panel.
Overall scoring will not depend solely on input from the judging panel, however, as criteria such as after sales, buying satisfaction, depreciation, and reliability will also be taken into account. Scoring for these criteria will be based on feedback received from consumer surveys, financial industry partner Liberty Insurance Bhd, and warranty provider industry partner Opal Auto Mart. The judges themselves will score the vehicles based on value, safety, driving performance, and perceived quality.
Finalists for the inaugural 2015 ASEAN Car of the Year are as follows:
Budget Car of the Year Perodua Axia Proton Iriz
Kia Picanto
Compact Car of the Year Honda Jazz Mazda2 SkyActiv
Ford Fiesta
Family Car of the Year Mazda3 SkyActiv Toyota Corolla Altis
Honda Civic
Executive Car of the Year Mazda6 SkyActiv Toyota Camry Ford Mondeo
Honda Accord
Family MPV of the Year Mazda Biante Proton Exora
Volkswagen CrossTouran
Premium MPV of the Year Honda Odyssey Volkswagen Sharan
Ford S-Max
Crossover of the Year Honda HR-V Peugeot 2008 Ford EcoSport Mitsubishi ASX
Subaru XV
Compact SUV of the Year Mazda CX-5 Ford Kuga
Honda CR-V
Family SUV of the Year Isuzu MU-X Hyundai Santa Fe
Nissan X-Trail
PickUp of the Year Ford Ranger Isuzu D-Max
Mitsubishi Triton
Coupe of the Year BMW 2 Series Peugeot RCZ Hyundai Veloster Subaru BRZ Toyota 86
Volkswagen Scirocco
Premium Compact of the Year Audi A3 Sedan Mercedes-Benz A-Class
Volvo V40
Premium Family Car of the Year BMW 3 Series Mercedes-Benz C-Class Lexus IS
Volvo V60
Premium Executive Car of the Year Mercedes-Benz E-Class Audi A6
BMW 5 Series
Premium Flagship of the Year Mercedes-Benz S-Class Audi A8 BMW 7 Series
Lexus LS
Premium Compact SUV of the Year Audi Q3 BMW X1 Mercedes-Benz GLA
Range Rover Evoque
Premium Mid-Size SUV of the Year Volvo XC60 Lexus NX BMW X3
Porsche Macan
Premium SUV of the Year BMW X5 Porsche Cayenne
Volvo XC90
Premium Coupe of the Year BMW 4 Series Lexus RC Audi TT
Jaguar F-Type
Performance Car of the Year BMW M4 Porsche 911 BMW i8 Mercedes-AMG GT
McLaren 650S
Grand Tourer of the Year BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe Porsche Panamera
Bentley Continental GT
Driver’s Car of the Year Volkswagen Golf R Renault Megane RS
Ford Fiesta ST
Keyword: Finalists announced for first ever ASEAN Car of the Year Awards