Personally, due to the lack of any distinct categories, I find it hard to take the South African Car of the Year Awards very seriously. After all, how can you have a little Suzuki Alto 1.0 GLS competing against a Toyota Prius hybrid, an Audi Q5 2.0T FSI and a Volvo XC60? If we had separate awards for each category (best supermini, best hot hatchback best MPV etc) I think this competition would be much more relevant to the South African motorist’s purchasing decision but as it stands it remains something of a farce; a cushy gala dinner event envisioned by the South African Motoring Guild to help keep local manufacturers buttered up. Yet despite what I and many other car fans might think, the 2010 Car of the Year Award ceremony still went ahead last night and the prize ended up going to the Volkswagen Golf V1 1.4 TSI. Congratulations, for what it’s worth…