In January, NACTOY jurors announced their awards for the North American car, truck, and utility vehicle of the year. The World Car of the Year awards, however, will be announced in April.
The results of these global awards tend to be interesting. Last year, the World Car of the Year was a masterstroke of an SUV and sales phenomenon that met the moment, the Kia Telluride; the year before, it was the Jaguar I-Pace, which was a scintillating design but hasn’t been a hot seller.
We just received word about the World Car of the Year award finalists, which will be the Honda E, the Toyota Yaris and the Volkswagen (or Voltswagen) ID.4. Check out the full list for each of the five awards below.
Honda, Toyota and VW Are Fighting to Be Crowned World Car of the Year
Honda, Toyota, and VW entries are duking it out to be named the World Car of the Year 2021.
Courtesy
Finalist, World Car / Urban Car / Car Design of the Year: Honda e
Sjoerd van der Wal
Finalist, World Car / Urban Car of the Year: Toyota Yaris
SALVATORE DI NOLFI
Most Practical Electric SUV: Volkswagen ID.4
Horsepower: 295 (AWD)Torque: 339 lb-ft (AWD)Top Range: 275 miles (RWD)Starting MSRP: $38,995What is it: The Volkswagen ID.4 is an electric compact crossover. It’s VW’s first EV to go on sale in America on VW’s MEB platform.
What we liked: The ID.4 offers a roomy passenger cabin and cargo space on par with non-electric crossovers, with 30.3 cubic feet behind the third row and up to 64.3 cubic feet with the second row folded. It offers a decent amount of range and looks better than your typical VW crossover.
What to watch out for: The minimalist ID.4 infotainment and climate controls are an unintuitive ergonomic nightmare. It’s competent but not particularly thrilling or engaging behind the wheel.
Will Sabel Courtney
Not one, but two V8-powered Defender are reportedly on the way
According to the report, Land Rover has not one but two V8 versions of the Defender planned for the U.S. They would be different tunings of the same engine, with the higher output edition reportedly carrying Land Rover’s SV badging. Even more excitingly, you will allegedly be able to get the V8 in the smaller Defender 90.
The big question for now is, where will Land Rover get the engine from if they shelve the 5.0-liter V8? BMW is a possibility, as we’ve heard from MT and elsewhere.
Land Rover
Finalist, World Luxury Car of the Year: Mercedes S-Class
Mercedes-Benz
The semiconductor shortage is starting to bite the auto industry
We knew back in January that the semiconductor shortage would be bad for the auto industry — even the humblest car is now a complicated computer — but the gravity is settling here in February. GM has been forced to idle three North American plants; Ford, in maybe the most glaring sign there’s an issue, is cutting back F-150 production.
Ford
Polestar 2 US Media Drive – USA – Aug 2020
Polestar
Finalist, World Performance Car of the Year: Audi RS Q8
Audi
Finalist, World Performance Car of the Year: Porsche 911 Turbo
Porsche
Finalist, World Performance Car of the Year: Toyota GR Yaris
Toyota
Finalist, World Urban Car of the Year of the Year: Honda Jazz / Fit
Honda
Finalist, World Car Design of the Year: Mazda MX-30
Mazda
The Subaru Outback Wilderness Is a Station Wagon Ready to Kick Serious Dirt
Want a Subaru that’s ready to blast well past the beaten path? Your car has arrived.
Subaru