Last year our overall winner followed the growth trend of embracing the SUV. This year – despite there being some excellent SUVs launched – we’re bucking the trend.
Our Overall Car of the Year award winner is a car, a medium-sized car too, which statistically is a declining market segment, and yet, the small to medium business sector has always had a soft spot (which has translated into lease/ownership) for four-door sedans and five-door station wagons.
So, when a number of automakers develop cars – as opposed to SUVs – as they have for 2021, well, it changes our voting procedures somewhat. There are very different considerations to take into account.  
Also, since NZ Company Vehicle does champion the SME market, we feel compelled to give weighting to a traditional car over other segments.  
And this year, the cars which have come to light have been well able to stack up against the SUV in any case.
With that in mind, for a vehicle to excel in these awards and receive the accolade of Overall Winner, it must be fit for purpose, it must be safe, it must reflect a sense of professionalism and yet be engaging to drive 48 hours a day over a 14-day week.
Well, perhaps this last is a little over the odds, but you take my point.
In addition to all of the above, the vehicle should be able to demonstrate excellent environmental credentials, along with favourable residual values.
The last consideration – and this is where subjective opinion on the part of the judges come in – is that the winner must appeal to a diverse range of drivers: CEOs, secretaries, Fleet managers (in that order) and most importantly Chief Financial Officers!
They say you can’t please everyone, but the NZ Company Vehicle Overall winner has to deliver to a fairly hefty percentage of them.
This year, the judges also introduced a voice of the people consideration. We asked the general public what they thought of our shortlisted finalist from a visual, first appearances standpoint and the result was added to our considerations.
With everything taken into account, all that is left to do is to commend Toyota for its exclusive hybrid engine stance for the winning vehicle, for its Safety Sense package, attention to chassis dynamics and both interior and exterior design.
Congratulations: the 2021 Toyota Camry is a deserving winner of our Overall Car of the Year award.