Car of the Year finalists revealed
THE New Zealand Motoring Writers’ Guild has released its list of 10 vehicles selected as finalists for the 2020 Car of the Year title.
The Guild represents the country’s motoring journalists, and its Car of the Year title is New Zealand’s ultimate newcar accolade. Awarded annually for more than three decades, it recognises the best newcar released in the past 12 months.
The 10 vehicles in contention for the 2020 award include two small cars — the Ford Fiesta and Toyota Yaris — and eight SUVs: the Audi Q3, Kia Seltos, Land Rover Defender, Mazda CX30, MercedesBenz EQC, MercedesBenz GLB, Peugeot 2008 and Skoda Kamiq.
‘‘This year’s top 10 reflects the strong influence that SUV and crossover variants now have on the total newvehicle market, so it’s no small wonder these models make up the majority of finalists,” guild president Richard Edwards said.
‘‘The guild takes great responsibility in selecting its finalists, and then determining the winner of the Car of the Year title, as our decision influences the buying decision of many Kiwi motorists,’’ Mr Edwards said.
‘‘It takes a very special vehicle to be crowned the New Zealand Motoring Writers Guild Car of the Year, an endorsement which represents a significant accomplishment for any new model.’’
In a normal year, 10 finalists would be selected from more than 50 recently released new models from various brands, but this number was down in 2020 due to supply restrictions associated with Covid19.
‘‘This year will go down in history for a whole variety of reasons, but the reveal of the finalists culminating with the announcement of the winner will mean a positive finish to 2020 for one brand in particular.’’
This will be the 33rd year in which the New Zealand Car of the Year Award has been made. The winner will be announced and presented with the Car of the Year Trophy — named in honour of guild founding member and former Christchurch
Press motoring editor Peter Greenslade — in early December.
One of the key features of the award is its genuinely national relevance, as it embodies the views of motoring writers from around the country, assessing vehicles across a range of conditions in their own regions.
Lower South Island perspectives are well represented, with Drivesouth motoring
editor David Thomson chairing the guild’s car of the year committee, and fellow Allied Press motoring contributor Bob Nettleton also a voting member.
The winner of this year’s award will take over from the Jaguar IPace as current holder of the national car of the year crown. Other recent winners are the Subaru Forester (2018), Skoda Kodiaq (2017), MercedesBenz EClass (2016),
BMW i3 (2015) and Mazda3 (2014).
By manufacturer, Mazda has been the most successful brand, winning five times since the award’s inception in 1988. BMW and Ford have four titles apiece and Honda three. MercedesBenz, Nissan, Toyota and Volkswagen have all secured the trophy twice, while Citroen, Jaguar, Holden, Lexus, Peugeot, Porsche, Skoda and Subaru are each singletime winners.