The South African Car of the Year is an annual Car of the Year award organised by the South African Guild of Mobility Journalists. The award process is widely regarded for its attention to depth and detail. The vehicles that are selected as finalists are thoroughly tested and driven for a number of days by the journalists before the winner is chosen based upon the journalist's scores.

The Toyota Corolla Cross is a compact crossover SUV (C-segment) produced by the Japanese automaker Toyota since 2020. Adopting the Corolla nameplate, it is positioned as a more practical and larger alternative to the C-HR and built on the same TNGA-C (GA-C) platform as the E210 series Corolla. By size, the Corolla Cross is positioned between the smaller C-HR—with which it shares a platform—and the larger RAV4, in Toyota's global crossover SUV lineup.