In order to be recognised as the Overall Winner for the Company Vehicle Car of the Year awards, a vehicle must meet a robust judging criterion of 10 points in 10 categories. But that’s just the beginning.
After this there is a raft of Company Vehicle specific qualifiers to refine and distil the vehicle, we think is most appropriate for our readers.
Although all our category winners have the potential to become our overall awardee this year’s winner surprised the judges as it was first driven very early in the piece and there was plenty of opportunity for the vehicle to be pipped at the post.
It is a reflection of the vehicle’s excellence that it held its ground for the entirety of the judging period and the fact that the market segment our winner is part of is such a hotly contested one.
To repeat: the Mitsubishi Outlander is the face of the new era for Mitsubishi. There have been vehicles leading up to this, the Crown Jewel of the range and their inputs have all come together in a masterclass of automotive art that is the new generation Outlander.
As well as looking good – which yes, is a subjective consideration but is a widely held one in this instance – the Outlander won its award for its incredible overall cohesion of power and drivetrains, sophisticated safety technology, the improved capabilities of the PHEV system and the integration of proprietary features like Mitsubishi’s proven Super All Wheel Control and AWD systems.
The new generation Outlander also introduced something new for the model with a meaningful change to the well -proven engine.
The improvement came in the form of a minor displacement upgrade, but it was still a risky gamble along the lines of, ‘it’s not broken, but we’ll fix it anyway’. It’s a gamble which paid off handsomely.
And for the first time, our Company Vehicle Car of the Year winner receives accolades not only for the vehicle, but for the marketing which goes around it.
This has been well considered, memorable and on point, presenting the complexity of the new model in an endearing and simplistic way, thus helping establish the Outlander’s presence as a mainstream player in the New Zealand landscape.
With its high levels of occupant comfort in all seating positions (seven at maximum), the Company Vehicle Overall winning awardee – the Mitsubishi Outlander – talks the talk and walks the walk. All things considered, this year’s winner is more than just well deserved, it’s our honour to award it.
