Maserati Granturismo S

"Superlative isn’t good enough in this company"

Precisely as we say about the Aston Martin, the Maserati lacks the ultimate performance advantage its promise suggests over the ‘normal’ cars in this line-up. And that is not because of a failing in the Maser, but because the rest of the kit here is so damn good – it makes it impossible for this car to overcome its price premium over some pretty capable devices that come in at a third, if not closer to a sixth of the loot.

Had S had the 380kW mill hewn off the same V8 base but limited to the Ferrari 430 Scuderia, then it would have had the go to better match the show. But somehow we doubt Maranello would quite be too happy to share that spec…

Still, Granturismo S is one hell of a car in its own right and, price excluded, stacked up against a BMW M3 Coupe (which we have to note again, costs a third…) the Maserati would probably win.

But that price just knocks it straight out of contention, because even though it costs a third, the BMW still has to be badly driven if you want even a chance to beat it and, especially in this economic climate, that’s just not good enough…

Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG

"Just not enough to make it stick"

Surprised not to see this car overleaf among the Top Five? Well we had a premonition that it may not make it up front and to be honest, it missed out by a whisker…

Were this just a car of the year contest, the C63 AMG would probably have been in the top tier, but this is the Performance Car of the Year with a capital P. And when C63 failed to deliver so spectacularly around Kyalami, its goose was cooked. See, we live and die by that parameter – Kyalami is a daunting place to drive a car fast and if it has demons, they will certainly come out on track.

So when the C63 failed to come within three seconds of the rival it was supposed to drill – and hardly managed to fend off a Corvette-powered bakkie, we lost some of our passion for it.

But don’t let that fool you either – on the road, C63 is still a mammoth among cars and it will deliver way beyond what most mere mortals expect or can even handle. Hugely powerful with all the kudos and the show to match the go, this car’s biggest problem in the end, is probably the quality of this year’s field – it’s significantly better than it was when its C55 predecessor won the opening PCOTY five years back…

Toyota Yaris TS

"Giant killer just fails to make Top 5"

Here’s one that did surprise us. We squeezed it in at the last minute and to be completely honest, we were quite taken aback by Toyota’s little performance mite… Yes, it has its downsides – like we’re not quite sure where those Legoland bumpers came from, but the effect is cool enough. And may be just a bit too pricey.

But then it’s a Toyota and its bound to match a cockroach in its ability to out-manoeuvre the effects of an A-bomb, it’ll pretty much keep its value and you’ll find a place to love and care for it around just about every corner.

And the best thing about it is that Toyota has actually remembered that it has a bit of a performance heritage and it’s finally built something to once again celebrate that. TS shapes up quite well – even though it’s no great shakes versus its only real rival at this shindig, it considerably undercuts that car’s list price. So, while it may have missed our Top 5 by a whisker, if you’re looking for – or need to buy down to a cheeky little mite with cartoon like looks and the dynamics to go with all that Toyota cred, this could just be your dream come true