{"id":3489,"date":"2018-11-25T05:05:16","date_gmt":"2018-11-25T05:05:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nzmwg.co.nz\/?p=3489"},"modified":"2018-12-06T08:08:55","modified_gmt":"2018-12-06T08:08:55","slug":"2018-new-zealand-car-of-the-year-finalists-strong-on-safety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nzmwg.co.nz\/press-releases\/2018-new-zealand-car-of-the-year-finalists-strong-on-safety\/","title":{"rendered":"2018 New Zealand Car of the Year finalists strong on safety"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The ten finalists for the New Zealand Car of the Year remind that advanced safety technology is no longer reserved for high-end vehicles.<\/p>\n

A common factor binding all potential candidates for the national award, meted annually by the New Zealand Motoring Writers\u2019 Guild, is a high level of safety technology, guild president Richard Edwards says.<\/p>\n

He notes this year\u2019s finalists \u2013 in no particular order being the BMW X3, Holden Commodore, Hyundai Kona, Kia Stinger, Mercedes-Benz A-Class, Skoda Karoq, Subaru Forester, Toyota Camry and a pair of Volvos, the XC40 and XC60 \u2013 all have as standard forms of lane keeping assist and autonomous emergency braking.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese types of technology save lives,\u201d says Guild President Richard Edwards.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is great to see Kiwi families and employers can easily access vehicles with this level of safety at relatively affordable prices.\u201d<\/p>\n

AEB is particularly relevant, designed to allow a vehicle to self-engage emergency braking in event of a potential collision event with a vehicle or even a pedestrian or cyclist if the driver has not reacted. It is now a required feature to earn a maximum score in Australasian and European NCAP crash testing.<\/p>\n

Edwards reminds that a recent European study cited that low-speed AEB technology had potential reduce the number and severity of rear-end crashes by 38 percent.<\/p>\n

With fuel prices on the rise, he said it is also interesting half the vehicles either have, or are set to have, an electrified or hybrid option.<\/p>\n

The Kona is available in a fully-electric version now. The X3 will come in an electric version in 2020, preceded by an equivalent XC40. That car\u2019s big brother, the XC60, offers as a plug-in hybrid. The Camry continues with the option of a hybrid drivetrain.<\/p>\n

\u201cNew Zealand is becoming a leader in the adoption of alternative energy vehicles and distributors are working hard to meet demand,\u201d Edwards says.<\/p>\n

\u201cKiwi buyers have more options for this than our neighbour across the Tasman.\u201d<\/p>\n

The New Zealand Car of the Year has been given out annually since 1988 and is considered the country\u2019s most prestigious motoring award since it is a truly national prize, without commercial ties.<\/p>\n

The award is decided by motoring commentators from throughout New Zealand and results from them having assessed the candidate vehicle in their local areas over an extended period.<\/p>\n

Criteria range from how the performs its intended role; its styling, interior design and accommodation; fit, finish and quality; ride and refinement; performance; road-holding and handling; value for money; active and passive safety and environmental responsibility.<\/p>\n

The most affordable car this year is the Kona, which starts from $31,990, with the most expensive the X3, available from $94,650. Five of the 10 finalists are available for less than $50,000.<\/p>\n

The New Zealand Car of the Year is to be announced in early December, with the winner to receive the Peter Greenslade Trophy. The current recipient is the Skoda Kodiaq.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The ten finalists for the New Zealand Car of the Year remind that advanced safety technology is no longer reserved for high-end […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[16,17],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nzmwg.co.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3489"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nzmwg.co.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nzmwg.co.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nzmwg.co.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nzmwg.co.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3489"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nzmwg.co.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3489\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nzmwg.co.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nzmwg.co.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3489"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nzmwg.co.nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}