Locally-produced BMW X3 crowned South Africa's 2025 Car of the Year

CapeTalk's Pippa Hudson interviews Ernest Page, motoring journalist at changecars.co.za.

Listen below:

Seventeen vehicles competed for the 2025 South African Car of the Year title, and the locally produced BMW X3 emerged as the winner.

This victory marks the eighth time a BMW has claimed the top honour in the prestigious competition, which has been run by the South African Guild of Mobility Journalists (SAGMJ) for the past 39 years.

Ernest Page, a self-proclaimed BMW enthusiast, says there's no denying the brand’s reputation for building exceptional vehicles.

The Suzuki Swift claimed second place, with the BMW M5 Hybrid securing third.

In addition to their podium finishes, each of these vehicles also topped their respective categories: The BMW X3 won in the Premium segment, the Suzuki Swift took the Budget category, and the BMW M5 triumphed in the Performance class.

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"Even though it does fall out of many, many people's price bracket, it does fall into many price brackets as well, providing good value for money against its competitors... I do believe there are a lot of positive boxes ticked by the BMW X3."

- Ernest Page, Motoring Journalist – changecars.co.za

Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the interview.