2018 World Car of the Year – top three finalists are the Mazda CX-5, Range Rover Velar and Volvo XC60!

2018 World Car of the Year – top three finalists are the Mazda CX-5, Range Rover Velar and Volvo XC60!

For the second consecutive time, the 2018 World Car of the Year award will be won by yet another SUV following the Jaguar F-Pace’s triumphant feat last year. The winner, set to be revealed at the New York International Auto Show on March 28, will be chosen from three finalists – the Mazda CX-5, Range Rover Velar and Volvo XC60, each receiving enough votes from over 80 jurors.

The Velar and XC60 are also in the running to win the World Car Design of the Year, with the third entry being the stunning Lexus LC500. In Malaysia, the LC 500 carries a price tag of RM940,000, and it drives nearly as good as it looks.

Speaking of driving, the World Performance Car finalists are the Lexus LC 500, F90 BMW M5 and the FK8 Honda Civic Type R. The M5 has already been launched in Thailand and is currently on its way to Malaysia, but if you fancy yourself a manual-only performance car, then the Civic Type R can be yours for RM320k.

Over in the World Luxury Car category, Porsche took two spots with the Cayenne and Panamera, while the high-tech Audi A8 completes the list of three. Another finalist from the Volkswagen Group is the sixth-generation Volkswagen Polo, and it goes up against the Suzuki Swift and Ford Fiesta in the World Urban Car category.

The final category is of course the World Green Car, with the trio being the Nissan Leaf, Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid and G30 BMW 530e iPerformance. The Bimmer is the only car from this category that’s on sale in Malaysia right now, and the EEV is priced at RM344k. The all-electric Leaf, on the other hand, is slated for launch by the end of the year.

So, do you agree with this list, and between the XC60, Velar and CX-5, which model do you think is worthy of being the 2018 World Car of the Year? Sound off in the comments section below!

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Matthew H Tong

An ardent believer that fun cars need not be fast and fast cars may not always be fun. Matt advocates the purity and simplicity of manually swapping cogs while coping in silence of its impending doom. Matt's not hot. Never hot.

 

Comments

  • 12yrsold on Mar 08, 2018 at 11:31 am

    Looks like smart $$$ is on SUV. No wonder Mazda & Volvo SUV are selling like hot cakes.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 17 Thumb down 0
    • Jenson on Mar 08, 2018 at 2:08 pm

      CRV the suv should be nominated too.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 50
      • Shamsul Anuar on Mar 08, 2018 at 4:19 pm

        CRV turbo very noisy. Sounds like a truck. Fail compared to CX5

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 33 Thumb down 4
        • sohai on Mar 08, 2018 at 5:50 pm

          Should be Honda Turbo very noisy, like engine bocor. Sure very short life-span, miles worst than VW…

          Like or Dislike: Thumb up 25 Thumb down 8
      • CRV is an oversized and heavy SUV. Nobody outside Malaysia cares about it.

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 29 Thumb down 2
      • CRV is not even nominated at all in top 10 let alone in the top 3

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 8 Thumb down 0
    • Naseer Kim on Mar 08, 2018 at 3:01 pm

      I see more crv than madza 5, as for volvo suv, i hardly see on the road. I see more 3008.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 7 Thumb down 40
      • Peace on Mar 08, 2018 at 4:19 pm

        The world does not care what Malaysians drive. And the world does not necessarily drive what Malaysians do. So to remind everyone here, this is the World Car of The Year awards.

        Well-loved. Like or Dislike: Thumb up 66 Thumb down 1
      • malaysianz on Mar 08, 2018 at 6:52 pm

        Malaysian think of resale value more than good car, which dont know why? resale value actually see how the consumer choose but Malaysian mind have only toyota and honda in mind for good resale value. CX-5 is a good car.

        * Talk about toyota and RV, long time didnt see Sam Loo Comment… :D

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 21 Thumb down 0
      • Lance on Mar 09, 2018 at 7:44 am

        That’s because CRV was launched earlier than cx5. I can see more previous version cx5 than the previous version CRV.

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 0
      • Ibrahim on Mar 09, 2018 at 12:41 pm

        R u blind? More than 3008. But isn’t 3008 move?

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
    • Willy on Mar 09, 2018 at 7:42 pm

      If only Mazda CX-5 Malaysia come with full spec, there’s missing lots of good features compared to other region offered

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 8 Thumb down 0
  • Velar….

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 6 Thumb down 6
  • Wow Mazda again!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 36 Thumb down 20
  • DPCraft on Mar 08, 2018 at 12:10 pm

    XC60!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 33 Thumb down 3
  • seancorr (Member) on Mar 08, 2018 at 12:17 pm

    Velar ftw

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 6 Thumb down 5
  • CX-5 ftw!!!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 28 Thumb down 18
  • It would be an uphill task for CX-5, but go for it! Go! Go! Go! Mazda.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 19 Thumb down 18
  • tokmoh. on Mar 08, 2018 at 2:41 pm

    Volvo XC60 > all

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 20 Thumb down 7
  • Warren Wong Yee Ket on Mar 08, 2018 at 3:34 pm

    Disappointed that the new Rolls-royce Phantom didn’t make it into the luxury list.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 1
  • waters on Mar 09, 2018 at 8:49 am

    No Mercedes? This is BS.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 15 Thumb down 3
  • Rajoo Selvam on Mar 19, 2018 at 10:02 pm

    But I strongly feel that masda won’t stand a chance at all. In term of sales, they are not doing so well neither in Asia nor Europe…

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 1
 

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