The headline “Value wheels” for this year’s BBTY clearly reflects the current economic downturn. Here are the respective winners of the most crowded categories. Thanks to the financial crisis and competition from parallel imports, these cars have never been more keenly priced.
This is clearly a Japanese domain. But the surprising winner of the large sedan category must be the Teana. Its predecessor, called Cefiro, does not handle as well as the Accord while the Camry has better ride comfort. Despite the shortcomings, many units were sold. I suspect the Cefiro’s main selling points were the silky V6 engine (excluding the 2-litre version), minimalist’s design and a large screen GPS unit that incorporates a reverse camera. Many owners were able to look past the fact that the navigation unit was locally installed and the system suffers recurring lags and ‘hangs’. But that’s not to say that the official distributor (Tan Chong) has not done anything about it. They have sourced an improved navigation system for the Teana that claims to be faster, better and more reliable. Incidentally, this new saloon from Nissan was also voted as one of the “Favourite Cars of 2008” by another local publication.
And Tan Chong wasted little time in showing off its newly earned accolade. (See text stating: NISSAN TEANA – The Straits Times’ Best Buys of the Year 2008 – ‘Large Sedans’ Category)
Continuing on The Straits Times’ BBTY, the result of the winners in the segments for executive and luxury sedans, MPVs, 4x4s and sports cars is likely to have less influence in the decision of the end-users. 
Under these categories, the buyers are most likely to be guided by brand image, lifestyle and intangible elements rather than fun-to-drive or value for money factor. Still, there’s no stopping SM Motors (agent for Volvo) to put up this XC60 advertisement that proudly proclaims its “Best Buy of The Year – SUV & Crossover” award.
I am agreeable with Winston’s choice that the winner is probably the best buy in its respective category. But it may not necessarily translate to be the best-seller in its segment. Regretfully, the same truth holds for many other things in life including watches, camera, electronic and sports equipment. In short, a branded product may not always be the most ideal product.
