Since the European Car of the Year (COTY) awards began in 1964, the winners have come from European brands with the first one from Japan in 1993. That of course discounts Ford as being as American brand as the Ford models that won were essentially European models. So there has never been an American brand winning the European COTY – until 2023.
At the Brussels Motor Show today, the Jeep Avenger was announced as this year’s winner, probably a surprise to many as there were strong contenders among the other six finalists. It’s the first time that Jeep – a thoroughly American brand – has won the award though other brands in the Stellantis Group (which it is part of) have won awards over the years.
In 2016, the 10th generation of the Honda Civic won the North American Car of the Year title and in 2022, its successor has again been picked by the jury of automotive journalists. This is the third time for the model which is the most popular compact car in America, with the first time being in 2006 with the 8th generation. Add the Accord in 2018, and the Ridgeline which was picked as the North American Truck of the Year in 2017, and Honda has collected five titles to date.
The North American Car, Utility and Truck of the Year awards honour excellence in innovation, design, safety features, performance, technology, driver satisfaction and value. Initiated in 1994, they are judged by 50 professional automotive journalists from the USA and Canada who work for independent magazines, television, radio, newspapers and industry websites.
“The Honda Civic has long set the standard by which other compact cars are measured and this all-new Civic raised that bar in every conceivable way,” said Michael Kistemaker, Assistant Vice-President of Honda national sales, American Honda Motor Co., Inc. “We’re especially proud for the Civic development team in Japan and our production associates at our plants in Greensburg, Indiana and Alliston, Ontario where the 2022 Civic Sedan, Hatchback and Si are built.”
Redesigned from the ground-up, the all-new Honda Civic has a more rigid body structure, an advanced and enhanced chassis wrapped in a more sophisticated, sleek and sporty design with top class interior space and comfort. The drivetrain options include a high-torque VTEC Turbo engine and a host of new standard safety, driver-assistive and connected-car technologies.
Interior of US version of new Civic.
Last October, the 11th generation Civic was also recognized by WardsAuto in the categories for Wards 10 Best Interiors and Wards 10 Best User Experience for 2021. Inspired by the classic human-centered designs of early Honda vehicles, the brand’s new interior design direction – applied in the new Civic – helps enhance the driving experience by eliminating complexity and advancing the user experience through thoughtful and pleasing design elements.
The design philosophy features a renewed focus on Honda’s classic “Man Maximum/Machine Minimum” (M/M) approach that maximizes cabin space, while minimizing space required for mechanical components. Inside, the M/M approach results in a very simple, clean and modern take on classic Civic values. By evoking the uncluttered cabin design of early generations of the model, the new model’s interior has exceptional visibility, intuitive ergonomics, generous passenger volume and driver-focused technology.
Right model, right time
The Civic, in its first generation, was one of the models that boosted the popularity of Japanese cars in America when it appeared in the early 1970s. It arrived at a time when the country was going through an energy and air quality crisis, and besides its compact size, the innovative fuel-efficient CVCC engine was also able to meet the newly-introduced exhaust emission standards without the need for a catalytic converter.
Form then on, Honda (already the leader in the motorcycle market) became increasingly popular in what was then the world’s largest car market. To date, Honda has produced nearly 11 million Civics in North America (more than 5 million in the USA), representing nearly 30% of the brand’s vehicle production in the region.
Coming to Malaysia this week
The 11th generation Civic will also be launched in Malaysia tomorrow (Thursday, January 13) and the locally-assembled line-up will include a RS version with a 182 ps/240 Nm VTEC 1.5-litre turbocharged 4-cylinder engine. For more information, visit www.honda.com.my or authorized Honda showrooms in Malaysia.
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Since 2009, a group of female motoring experts from 5 continents has got together to pick the Women’s World Car of the Year/Best Car of the Year. It is the only car awards group in the world with only women motoring journalists.
Jury of 50 women from 38 countries
This year, the group that formed the jury numbered 50 and they were from 38 countries. Before casting their votes, they tested dozens of models and evaluated each accordingly. Nine models reached the final phase, each of them winners in their category, and all of them worthy candidates for the overall award which went to the Land Rover Defender.
The voting system of the Women’s World Car of the Year was based this year on choosing in the first round the three best cars in each category, taking into account models launched between January and December 2020. The Defender won with high scores for aspects such as safety, performance, comfort, technology and value for money.
Peugeot 208 – Best Urban Car
Besides the Defender, other models which were tops in the various categories were: Urban Car – Peugeot 208 Family Car – Skoda Octavia Luxury Car – Lexus LC 500 Convertible Performance Car – Ferrari F8 Spider Urban SUV – Peugeot 2008 Medium SUV – Land Rover Defender Large SUV – Kia Sorento 4×4 & Pick-up – Ford F-150 Electric Vehicle – Honda e
Lexus LC500 Convertible – Best Luxury Car
Honda e – Best EV
Of interest to women
“The Women’s World Car of the Year is the only jury in the world made up entirely of women motoring journalists. This gives it enormous value because its decisions represent the liking and preferences of millions of women drivers around the globe. But cars have no gender and are not subject to stereotypes so the winners of these awards are, quite simply, the best cars in the world. And this year’s top winner is the Land Rover Defender,” said Marta Garcia, Executive President of the Women’s World Car of the Year.
The voting was verified by Grant Thornton, from its office in New Zealand, which has been certifying the results of the Women’s World Car of the Year awards since its inception. Paul Kane, a partner in the company, said it is always a hard-fought process.
Last year, the European Car of the Year (COTY) awards ceremony – traditionally held at the Geneva International Motor Show (GIMS) – was unable to be held as the event was cancelled at the last moment due to government concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic. The Swiss banned any event with more than 1,000 people to prevent spread of the coronavirus.
This year, the GIMS still could not be held but the organisers of the oldest Car of the Year awards – run annually since 1964 – decided to still hold the event at its traditional venue even though no motorshow was on (there is one planned for 2022). But there was no audience present and the event was broadcast live online to the whole world this afternoon in Geneva.
A 59-member jury, made up of automotive journalists from 22 countries, selected the winners from 7 models that were the finalists. The nominees are models sold in at least 5 European countries with an expected annual volume of 5,000 units. Technical innovation and value for money are said to be particularly important factors in this annual contest.
This year, the 7 finalists were the Citroen C4, CUPRA Formentor, Fiat New 500, Land Rover Defender, Skoda Octavia, Toyota Yaris and the all-electric Volkswagen ID.3.
And this year, the European-built Toyota Yaris is the Car of the Year. It’s the second COTY award (the first being in 2000) for the Yaris which was originally designed for Europe. Not many Japanese brands have had winners in the COTY and this is Toyota’s third time taking home an award.
The European Yaris is not the same one as that assembled and sold in Malaysia by UMW Toyota Motor. However, it is similar to the GR Yaris, which is a ‘homologation special‘ that is ready for competition use, especially rallying.
There are many Car of the Year (COTY) events all over the world today and there’s even a World Car of the Year. The one that started it all was the European Car of the Year (ECOTY), which began in 1964 as a collaboration between automobile magazines of a number of countries.
Unlike COTY events in other countries and regions, the ECOTY has just one winner each year. “The object of Car of the Year is to find a single, decisive winner. The voting process is designed for that purpose, and not to provide a scale of merit of all competing cars. There are no categories, sub-divisions or class winners,” according to the ECOTY website.
The nominees are models sold in at least 5 European countries with an expected annual volume of 5,000 units. A shortlist of 7 contenders will be established by voting from a multinational jury. Technical innovation and value for money are said to be particularly important factors.
This year, the seven models on the shortlist for the 2021 Car of the Year are:
Citroen C4
Cupra Formentor
Fiat New 500
Land Rover Defender
Skoda Octavia
Toyota Yaris
Volkswagen ID.3
Fiat New 500, Citroen C4, Land Rover Defender
The Volkswagen ID.3 is the only EV in the shortlist this year. It is one of the models in the German carmaker’s all-electric range. 10 years ago, EV models were more individual and the first one to win the ECOTY was the Nissan LEAF in 2011, followed by the Opel Ampera (GM Volt) the following year. But then car companies began to have EV or hybrid variants in a model line (eg the Hyundai IONIQ) so the distinction is somewhat blurred now. Last year, the Peugeot 208 was the winner and it has variants with internal combustion engines as well as electric powertrains.
In 2011, the Nissan LEAF was the first EV to win the European Car of the Year
A final voting round at the end of February will determine the Car of the Year for 2021, with the winner announced on March 1. Normally, the announcement would be made in Geneva, at the motorshow but with the pandemic and also the sudden cancellation of the event last year, it is now announced online.
There are many ‘Car of the Year’ (COTY) award programs run each year all over the world. While they are generally ‘gender-neutral’, the general perception is that the people who sit on the judging panels are usually males. There is, however, one COTY program which has a judging panel made up of only women – the Women’s World Car of the Year (WWCOTY).
This year, the winners were announced at the Dubai International Motor Show.
WWCOTY has been presenting awards annually for the past 10 years, and its judges have used criteria such as safety, value-for-money, aesthetic appearance, storage space, child–friendliness, ease-of-driving, colour, sex appeal and environmental footprint.
The winning car may not reach 0–100 km/h in less than so many seconds or have eye–popping Newton metres of torque. But it will be a car that appeals very strongly to women and that, in essence, is what this award is all about.
Experts in their chosen field, the 41 women (from 34 countries) of the judging panel are all published and specialist motoring writers, some of whom even have had motor racing experience.
Mazda3 – the latest winner in the Women’s World Car of the Year program.
For the 2019 edition of WWCOTY, the announcement of winners was made at the Dubai International Motor Show, with the all-new Mazda3 picked as the Car of the Year. The model was also tops in the Family Car category.
There were five other categories and the winners are: Urban Car- Kia XCeed; Green Car – Kia Soul EV; Luxury Car – BMW 8-Series; Performance Car – Porsche 911; and SUV/Crossover – Range Rover Evoque.
Visit www.mazda.com.my to know more about the latest Mazda3 and other models available in Malaysia.
Volvo’s mid-range SUV, the XC60 has been named 2018 Utility of the Year by the Detroit Free Press, Detroit’s largest daily newspaper. Built using the Scalable Product Architecture platform, the 2018 model year is new from the ground up, combining Swedish elegence and precise craftmanship. The vehicle was given the accolade because of what it brings to the table.
Like it’s bigger brother, the middle child of Volvo’s SUV family features striking good looks that is topped off by the signature ‘Thor’s hammer’ headlights. This complements the slew of safety features very well. The XC60 is able to monitor it’s blind spots and take control of the steering if it detects an impending collision.
Besides this, it’s various front and rear sensors help prevent head-on collisions and other fender benders, acting as the driver’s third eye. Then there’s also the semi-autonomous safety system that is able to steer and keep the XC60 at a constant speed provided that the road lane markings are clearly visible.
“The XC60’s value, design and advanced safety features set it apart from other utility vehicles,” Detroit Free Press auto critic Mark Phelan said. “It sets a high standard for other SUVs.”
The Volvo XC60 is offered with a number of powertrains including the award winning T8 Twin Engine plug-in hybrid at the top of the powertrain range delivering 400bhp. Expect the automaker to chalk up a number of other awards in the coming months as more publications get their hands on this sophisticated machine.
As many of you may already know, the new Tiguan was recently launched in Malaysia, you can find the full article here. Today’s news is once again related to the Tiguan, but this time, this particular VW is one of the three finalists which are in the running to win the “World Car of the Year” award.
The Tiguan is one the German automaker’s most important models currently in its portfolio. Launched in 2007, the name plate has gone on to represent a vehicle that is well regarded around the world. The latest generation Tiguan is available to purchase in 170 different markets and to this day, 3.5 million Tiguans have been sold.
VW has been able to give the Tiguan mild-mannered off-road capabilities while still retaining decent comfort levels and solid German build quality. And whether that’s enough to win the “World Car of the Year” in 2017 remains to be seen, but if you are interested to know more about the VW Tiguan, visit the manufacturer’s local website for further details.
