After an extensive evaluation of the eight official contestants in the 2024 South African Bakkie of the Year (SABOTY) competition, with the entrants in the four categories assessed in three distinct disciplines (4×4 driving and capability tests, offroad performance tests, and towing performance on- and off-road), the outcome of the gruelling tests delivered some surprising and interesting results.
With the winners announced at Nampo Cape in Bredasdorp, Western Cape, on 14 September, the competition not only delivered the first hybrid vehicle winner in the country but also the first win by a Chinese manufacturer in the highly contested bakkie arena, as the GWM P500 HEV Ultra Luxury 4x4 9AT was crowned the 2024 SABOTY.
Established in 2023, the purpose of the annual competition is to evaluate and appraise specific requirements as well as expected critical performance measurements that are addressed and evaluated in a comprehensive, yet measurable, repeatable, and verifiable manner in order to select the best bakkie introduced in the country in the specific year.
The new GWM P500 HEV Ultra Luxury 4x4 9AT, which was introduced in South Africa very recently, impressed the SABOTY jury teams with its highquality interior, ultra-high specification level, comfortable on- and off-road ride performance, impressive handling dynamics and superior towing capability.
So imposing was the GWM P500 HEV Ultra Luxury 4x4 AT that it not only won overall and in its class, but was also adjudicated as the winner in the towing category, as well as in the driving dynamics and off-road and 4x4 categories. In similar fashion, its smaller sibling, the GWM 2.4 T 9AT 4X4 Luxury, was adjudged the winner in its class.
THE PARTICIPANTS
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