Winners of the annual World Car Awards were announced recently. Kia took home the big prize with the Telluride being crowned the 2020 World Car of the Year. The other categories saw Porsche, Kia (again!) and Mazda sharing the honours.
2020 World Luxury Car of the Year
Choosing 'the' luxury car from a bunch of luxury cars comprising 3 new models each from BMW and Mercedes-Benz, 2 each from Porsche and Cadillac and Toyota Supra is always going to be difficult. Of course, given the fact we are talking about the World Luxury Car of the Year, the Toyota can be eliminated quite easily. But how do you pick one from the rest?
Trust Porsche to make the job easier. The Taycan might have taken ages to hit the market but when it finally did in 2019, Porsche got it spot on. The brand's first full-electric car does everything you expect from a Porsche exceedingly well and doubles up as a legitimate Tesla competitor. Looks? Check. Performance? Check. Luxury? Double check, apparently. This is the first time a Porsche has won the World Luxury Car of the Year title.
Finishing runner-up behind the Taycan is Porsche's evergreen 911 in it's newest form. Mercedes-Benz EQC, yet another fully-electric luxury car aimed at Tesla, finished third. Other finalists were the BMW X5 and X7.
2020 World Luxury Car of the Year Results
1. Porsche Taycan - 846 points
2. Porsche 911 - 786 points
3. Mercedes-Benz EQC - 778 points
Previous Winners
2019 - Audi A7
2018 - Audi A8
2017 - Mercedes-Benz E-Class
2016 - BMW 7-Series
2015 - Mercedes-Benz S Coupe
2020 World Performance Car of the Year
Porsche had this in the bag even before the winner was declared. Yes, the top three contenders for this title were the 718 and 911 apart from the full-electric Taycan. In the end, it was the Taycan that emerged victorious. As stated before, the Taycan does everything you expect from a Porsche exceedingly well. It looks scintillating, handles like a dream from what we heard, can hit a top speed of 260 km/h, goes from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.8 or 3.2 seconds and has a range of up to 412 or 450 kilometers depending on the variant.
This is the sixth time a Porsche has been crowned the World Performance Car adding to the awards the brand won in 2006, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2017. The iconic 911 came second relegating the 718 to the third position. Other finalists were the gorgeous BMW M8 and the manic Toyota Supra.
2020 World Performance Car of the Year Results
1. Porsche Taycan - 867 points
2. Porsche 911 - 809 points
3. Porsche 718 - 776 points
Previous Winners
2019 - McLaren 720S
2018 - BMW M5
2017 - Porsche Boxster / Cayman
2016 - Audi R8 Coupe
2015 - Mercedes-Benz AMG GT
2020 World Urban Car of the Year
Aimed at finding the car that's best suited to tackle the urban jungle, the World Urban Car of the Year is the newest category of the World Car Awards handed out since 2017.
Kia made it a historic double with the brand's Soul EV successfully fending off competition from Mini's Cooper SE and Volkswagen's T-Cross. Currently in its third generation, Kia's box-on-wheels has evolved into a chic-looking urban crossover that doesn't discriminate for not spending much on your new car. That it comes with a credible electric powertrain makes it a home run.
Volkswagen's T-Cross came second with the Mini Cooper SE finishing a distant third. Two hatchbacks from Europe - Peugeot 208 and Renault Clio - were the other finalists. Cars that didn't make the cut include Hyundai Venue, Opel Corsa and Renault Zoe R135.
2020 World Urban Car of the Year Results
1. Kia Soul EV - 751 points
2. Volkswagen T-Cross - 702 points
3. Mini Cooper SE - 574 points
Previous Winners
2019 - Suzuki Jimny
2018 - Volkswagen Polo
2017 - BMW i3
2020 World Car Design of the Year
Ever since they adopted the 'Kodo - Soul of Motion' design language, Mazda has been churning out seductive art pieces that happen to move and carry people around. Alright, that's a bit exaggerated. Or is it? Whatever you think of that statement, fact is the current crop of Mazda cars are amongst the best-looking automobiles one could buy. And the Mazda 3 - the 2020 World Car Design of the Year - sits right at the top of the brand's ladder.
Porsche Taycan ran the Mazda 3 close and eventually fell just two points short of making it a triple at this year's World Car Awards. While Peugeot 208 was the other car in contention for the title, Alpine A110S and Mazda CX-30 were the finalists that didn't make the final cut.
2020 World Car Design of the Year Results
1. Mazda 3 - 179 points
2. Porsche Taycan - 177 points
3. Peugeot 208 - 144 points
Previous Winners
2019 - Jaguar I-PACE
2018 - Range Rover Velar
2017 - Jaguar F-PACE
2016 - Mazda MX-5
2015 - Citroen C4 Cactus
World Car Awards brings together 86 automotive journalists from 27 countries including six from India. The annual process usually begins at the Frankfurt Motor Show the prior year where all eligible candidates for each category are announced and ends with declaring and felicitating the winners at the New York Auto Show. Thanks to COVID-19, the winners were declared online this year.
