Toyota and its luxury line Lexus won top honors at the 2018-2019 Auto Focus People’s Choice Awards (AFPCA), securing the automobile of the Year (AOY) for the Standard and Premium/Luxury categories with the Toyota Wigo city car and Lexus NX300 compact SUV/crossover, respectively.
The Wigo won over the Montero Sport, outscoring the Mitsubishi SUV with its 3,316.2 consolidated score versus the latter's 2,863.The Toyota Wigo also landed the Sedan of the Year title for its third MOY crown, after winning in 2015 and 2017.
In comparison the Lexus NX300 won by a very slim margin, albeit it was against its midsize stablemate, the Lexus RX350. The NX300 scored 837.2 points against the RX350’s 833.6--a mere 3.6-point difference. The NX300 also managed its first Model of the Year (MOY) award by topping the SUV/Crossover of the Year category.
The Ford Mustang notched its first MOY in the Sports Car category, while the Nissan Urvan snagged the Van/MPV award for the second year in a row.
The Pickup of the Year award went to the now four-time winner Nissan Navara, which also took the award back 2008, 2010 and 2011.
The Montero Sport won the SUV/Crossover MOY, which it also won in 2009, 2012, 2013 and 2017.
The AFPCA was held Thursday evening, October 18, 2018 at the Grand Ballroom of the Valle Verde Country Club, Pasig City. The 2018-2019 Auto Focus Media's Choice Awards (AFMCA) was held on the same night, with 45 winners emerging from 88 award categories, which are listed below.
Best Design – Standard: 7 Awards
Chevrolet Spark (Mini); Mazda 2 (Subcompact); Mazda 6 (Midsize Sedan); Civic R-Type (Sports Car); Ford Ranger (Pickup); Hyundai Grand Starex (Van); Mitsubishi XPander (MPV)
Best Design – Premium/Luxury:
BMW 5-Series (Midsize Sedan); Porsche Panamera (Large Sedan); Lamborghini Aventador (Sports Car); Toyota Alphard (Van); Mercedes Benz B-Class (MPV)
Best Engine Performance – Standard
Honda Brio (Mini); Mazda 2 (Subcompact); Honda Civic R-type (Sports Car); Mitsubishi Pajero (Large SUV/Crossover); Isuzu DMax (Pickup); Nissan NV350 Urvan (Van); Toyota Innova (MPV)
Best Engine Performance – Premium/Luxury:
MINI 3-Door & 5-Door (Subcompact); BMW 5-Series (Midsize Sedan); Porsche Panamera (Large Sedan); Porsche Cayenne (Midsize SUV/Crossover); Toyota Alphard (Van); Mercedes Benz B-Class (MPV)
Best Safety Features – Standard:
Volkswagen Golf GTS (Compact Sedan); Ford Expedition (Large SUV/Crossover); Hyundai Grand Starex (Van)
Best Safety Features – Premium/Luxury:
Mercedes Benz A-Class (Subcompact); Volvo S60 (Midsize Sedan); Volvo XC60 (Midsize SUV/Crossover); Volvo XC90 (Large SUV/Crossover); Mercedes Benz V-Class (Van); BMW 2-Series Gran Tourer (MPV)
Best Value-for-Money – Standard:
Toyota Wigo (Mini); Toyota Camry (Midsize Sedan); Suzuki Jimny (Subcompact SUV/Crossover); Isuzu MU-X (Midsize SUV/Crossover); Isuzu DMax (Pickup); Nissan NV350 Urvan (Van)
Best Value-for-Money – Premium/Luxury:
Lexis IS350 (Compact Sedan); BMW 5-Series (Midsize Sedan); Lexus LS500 (Large Sedan); Lexus NX300 (Compact SUV/Crossover); Toyota Land Cruiser 200 (Large SUV/Crossover); Peugeot Traveler (MPV)
The event was attended by representatives from various car manufacturers and distributors in the country, along with members and officials of the auto industry's two lead organizations, the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) and the Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors (AVID), as well as motoring media professionals.
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