2016 World Car of the Year – finalists announced

At the ongoing Geneva Motor Show, the World Car Awards has announced its ‘Top Three in the World’ finalists in five award categories for this year’s competition. The finalists were selected by a jury of 73 distinguished international automotive journalists via a secret ballot.

Without further ado, we begin with the most coveted category, the 2016 World Car of the Year. In this category, we have the latest iteration of the Audi A4 (B9), which left us impressed when we had a go at it.

The Audi faces off against a fellow German in the form of the Mercedes-Benz GLC, which was recently launched here not too long ago. The final entrant in this three-way is the Mazda MX-5 roadster.

Next up, we have the 2016 World Luxury Car of the Year title, where the Audi Q7, BMW 7 Series and Volvo XC90 are the finalists. All three models have already been launched in Malaysia, with the BMW being the most recent introduction.

Speed freaks will be looking towards the 2016 World Performance Car, where another Audi entry can be found. We are of course talking about the R8 coupe, and it will go up yet again, against a Mercedes – the AMG C 63 Coupe. However, Honda’s all-new Civic Type R could be the wildcard entry that takes the prize.

From red hot performance, we move on to eco green. The Chevrolet Volt, Toyota Mirai and Toyota Prius will each be looking to emerge as 2016 World Green Car of the Year, with the hydrogen-powered Mirai looking to be a strong candidate to win it.

Finally, it’s a celebration of looks in the 2016 World Car Design of the Year category. Out of the three finalists, two are from Mazda – the MX-5 and CX-3, both of which we have reviewed before. The final entrant is the new Jaguar XE that has already made its Malaysian debut.

Do you agree with the finalists chosen by the World Car Awards’ jury? Which car do you think deserves to win in their respective categories? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

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Gerard Lye

Originating from the corporate world with a background in finance and economics, Gerard’s strong love for cars led him to take the plunge into the automotive media industry. It was only then did he realise that there are more things to a car than just horsepower count.

 

Comments

  • hailthepurist on Mar 02, 2016 at 12:09 pm

    Toyota Mirai..

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 2
  • where is proton..

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 9 Thumb down 9
  • spongewai on Mar 02, 2016 at 12:17 pm

    I go for Volvo XC90 to win WCOTY 2016 next month at New York Autoshow

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 6 Thumb down 1
  • Jimmy on Mar 02, 2016 at 1:30 pm

    See, even older people think that CX-3 is good-looking (unfortunately small). As I said earlier, for crossover/suv below rm200k, only Countryman can beat it.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 4
  • Henry on Mar 02, 2016 at 1:43 pm

    So many good candidates. It will be difficult to decide.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
  • Garry Teo on Mar 02, 2016 at 1:49 pm

    Merc GLC

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
  • poor candidates.

    I would go for Toyota Mirai as the WCOTY, and not just the green category.

    I don’t know how did GLC got in the list.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 1
  • Gaviny on Mar 02, 2016 at 3:51 pm

    Imagine that , we Malaysians actually are able to buy cars that are nominated for car of the year . What a time to be alive

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 5 Thumb down 2
  • camtakpro on Mar 02, 2016 at 4:07 pm

    lol where is VW?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 2
  • skatax on Mar 02, 2016 at 8:10 pm

    Easy. Just like the recent oscars prediction. My money’s on:

    2016 World CoTY – Mazda MX-5 (we all have been waiting its successor for years, and had been well received)
    2016 World Luxury CoTY – Volvo XC90 (same story like MX-5)
    2016 World Performance CoTY – Audi R8 (the new R8 had just set the bar for future supercars, tough act there)
    2016 World Green CoTY – Toyota Prius (the hybrid leader hands down, as always)
    2016 World Car Design of the Year – Mazda MX-5 (I’d chose XC90 if it got nominated, Mazda’s rear end design is not so inspiring though).

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 11 Thumb down 1
 

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