Last September 23, the Car Awards Group, Inc. (CAGI), an esteemed group of local motoring journalists, has kicked off its first part of this year’s Test Fest. With its testing arena located at the Ayala-owned Arca South (formerly FTI) in Taguig City, the said event would help determine the Philippines’ Car, Truck, and the first Motorcycle of the Year winners for 2017.
In line with this, the Test Fest part 1 went off without a hitch, thanks to CAGI’s long-time partners KPMG RG. Manabat & Co. and Carmudi Philippines. The former served as an overseer of integrity and fairness in the points scoring by utilizing an unbiased, organized, and honest grading process.
The first outing of the 2017 CAGI Test Fest was attended to by such car brand as Chevrolet, Kia, Mazda, MINI, Subaru and Volkswagen. With their respective models present, CAGI’s men began taking each car for a spin. Below is the list of models for each car brand.
- Chevrolet – Spark subcompact hatchback, Trax subcompact crossover
- Kia – Rio GL subcompact hatchback, Picanto GT Line subcompact hatchback
- Mazda – Mazda 2 subcompact hatchback, MX-5 RF roadster/retractable fastback
- MINI – One 3-door hatchback
- Subaru – Impreza 2.0i-S compact sedan
- Volkswagen – Jetta compact sedan, Golf GTS station wagon
The Test fest procedure was carried out in 2 folds; the Qualitative and the Quantitative. The Qualitative is where a car’s fit and finish, riding comfort, and convenience, among others, are judged. The Quantitative, on the other hand, takes into account the vehicle’s performance, especially in terms of acceleration, handling, and braking.
All the above-mentioned factors contribute to a pool of valuable information that would help car buyers make educated decisions prior to purchasing a new vehicle.
CAGI President Ronald delos Reyes shared that the group is eying to test around 30 to 40 vehicles this year, most of which are expected to come from the crossover class. He also stated that with the bustling entrepreneurship trend in the local automotive industry, a number of commercial vehicles are likewise to be expected to participate.
With the first round of testing done, the next 2017 CAGI Test Fest will take place on September 30 and October 28. Meanwhile, the inaugural Motorcycle of the Year Test Fest is scheduled to commence on October 14 and 21.
