South Africans have their say: choose a favourite

THE Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa (FMCSA) has driven away with the top honour at the 2015 Standard Bank People’s Wheels Awards that were announced recently at Montecasino in Johannesburg.

The Double-Cab Ranger won the Double-Cab Bakkie category and also took home the overall prize in the 2015 online poll.

The Ranger’s popularity can also be seen in this year’s total sales figures, which have grown 38% year-to-date, as of October.

Ford’s EcoSport was chosen as the winner in the Small SUVs and Crossovers category.

The EcoSport champions the smart 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine which itself is no stranger to winning.

This innovative engine has won the International Engine of the Year Award an unprecedented three times from 2012 to 2014.

Other Ford models were also recognised by the public, with nominations for:

• Figo, budget buys category;

• Fiesta, compact commuters category;

• Focus, compact executive cars category;

• Fiesta ST, hot hatches or sedans or coupés category;

• Focus ST, hot hatches or sedans or coupés, category;

• Kuga, compact SUV’s and crossovers category;

• Transit Custom, light delivery vehicles category, and

• the Ranger in both single and double cab bakkie categories.

The People’s Wheels Awards was initiated by the Future Group in association with Standard Bank, TNS South Africa and the Sunday Times. South Africans were encouraged to vote over a three-month period for their favourite cars and more than 60 000 online votes were registered for the 22 categories between June and August.