World Car of The Year Awards: The Big Winners

World Car of The Year Awards were organized and the winners were announced in five categories. The jury decided various parameters on which the cars should have to perform to become eligible to be shortlisted in the competition.

The five categories decided by the jury were:-

• World Car of the Year
• World Luxury Car
• World Urban Car
• World Performance Car
• World Car Design of the Year

The 2020 World Car Awards were officially launched in Frankfurt and then the top 5 finalists were announced. Then on Mar 5^th, “Top Three in the World” finalists were announced for each category. They were:-

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World Car of the Year

• Kia Telluride
• Mazda CX-30
• Mazda3

World Urban Car

• Kia Soul EV
• Mini Electric
• Volkswagen T-Cross

World Luxury Car

• Mercedes Benz EQC
• Porsche 911
• Porsche Taycan

World Performance Car

• Porsche 718 Spyder/Cayman GT4
• Porsche 911
• Porsche Taycan

World Car Design of the Year

• Mazda3
• Peugeot 208
• Porsche Taycan

The winners were announced on 8^th of April, by a jury of 82 automotive journalists.

Kia Telluride- 2020 World Car of the Year

The Telluride is the biggest and the flagship SUV from Kia. This full-size SUV shares its parts with Hyundai Palisade and is also priced competitively. Kia offers a lot of features and safety equipment as standard with the SUV which makes the Telluride value for money. The SUV hasSofino leather upholstery, UVO connected tech, 8.0-inch Touch-Screen Infotainment Display, three-row seating, rear AC vents, smart key with push-button start/stop, smart cruise control and 18-inch alloy wheels as standard. Telluride comes with a rear camera with parking sensors, Auto Emergency Braking & Warning, Blind Spot Detection Technology, Rear Cross-Traffic Alert and Avoidance, Lane Keeping & Lane Following, Safe Exit Assist (SEA) and Rear Occupant Alert. Telluride offers a 3.8-liter naturally aspirated V6 petrol engine only that produces a max power output of 295PS and 355Nm of torque. The engine is mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission and an all-wheel-drive variant is also available

Kia Soul EV- 2020 World Urban Car

Kia Soul EV comes with a 64kW battery pack that is liquid-cooled. The battery can produce 201 hp and 395Nm of torque. The battery supports fast charging and has a Kia Soul EV has a range of 452km. It comes with four driving modes namely Sports, Eco, Eco+, and Normal. The EV is equipped with many clever battery-saving features such as regenerative braking, a heat pump to recover waste heat from the coolant water, and an individual air conditioning. The safety features that it offers are: Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist, Lane Keeping Assist, Blind-Spot Collision Warning, Lane Follow Assist, Smart Cruise Control, and much more. Kia also offers a 7-inch digital instrument cluster, a 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system, mood lighting, wireless charging, heated, and ventilated front seats.

Porsche Taycan- 2020 World Luxury Car and 2020 World Performance Car

Manufacturing an electric car that has a performance, handling feel and driving dynamics of the legendary 911 was a challenge to Porsche. but it seems that they have managed to pull it off by winning the World Luxury Car and World Performance Car awards. The Taycan is the first production EV that comes with an 800-volt electrical system and a two-speed transmission. This helps in increasing the acceleration of the Taycan and the Turbo S variant can hit a ton in just 2.5 seconds. The 93.4 kWh battery of the Turbo S variant produces 761 HP in the over-boost mode. The Turbo variant has a range of 450km whereas the Turbo S variant comes with a range of 412km. Taycanhas LED headlamps and tail lamps, automatic extending door handles, panoramic glass roof, ambient lighting, and much more. There are three touchscreens to change the controls of the car. The traditional dials have been replaced for a 16-8 inch curved display. Also, there isa 10.9-inch central display and an 8.4-inch touch screen on the central console. There is a total of three variants of the Taycan available namely 4S, Turbo, and Turbo S.

Mazda3- World Car Design of the Year

Mazda3 was launched in 2019. It was the first car to come with Mazda’s Koda design language and it seems that the new design language has worked and helped them won the World Car Design of the Year award. Mazda3 comes with an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto, Apple Carplay, and is connected to Bose sound system. There is a 7-inch configurable gauge cluster, keyless entry, push-button start/stop, automatic headlamps and wipers, electronic parking brake, and much more. Mazda has ensured that the car is well equipped with features so that it can compete in the market.

This is the first win for the Kia and they have managed to get two awards on their first time whereas, the Porshe and Mazda have won many awards in the past few years.   The award show was scheduled on April 8 at New York International Auto Show but due to the current circumstances of coronavirus outbreak, the winners were announced online.

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