Toyota Camry is the clear champion

This is the second time in the 22-year history of the award that Toyota has won

- Lee Nian Tjoe

The Toyota Camry takes the chequered flag to be crowned Straits Times Car of the Year 2024.

This is the best new car that The Straits Times has reviewed in Singapore between mid-November 2023 and mid-November 2024.

It is among the 37 new cars that have been made available by authorised agents during this period that are considered.

All the contenders have undergone a rigorous judging process and scoring matrix.

The final list of top 10 cars is derived after two rounds of deliberations by the judging panel of eight road testers.

The shortlisted cars are put through a point-based voting system that zeroes in on nine attributes of each car, considering how much better they are against their own class rivals.

The maximum points that a car can score in a category is five.

The judges have a total of 250 points to be distributed among the 10 shortlisted cars.

These include the models cited in the "comparable comparisons" section found at the end of the published local car reviews.

Scores in the practicality and value for money categories receive higher weightage than those in the other categories.

The seven remaining categories are performance, handling, ride quality, build quality, efficiency, styling and X-factor, which refers to the intangible quality that sets a car apart.

One of the judges, retired journalist Christopher Tan, says: "The beauty of the Straits Times Car of the Year award is that it has a sizeable panel of judges who have driven thousands of cars.

And even if each has his own personal preferences, the scoring matrix containing nine attributes ensures impartiality - especially when contenders are ranked against their peers."