The Mazda MX-5 has been crowned the overall winner at the 2016 World Car of the Year awards. The victory was confirmed at this year’s New York Motor Show which began recently.
Double win for the MX-5
Mazda’s small, lightweight sports car beat two other finalists, the latest Audi A4 and the Mercedes GLC SUV to the overall prize.
In addition to that achievement, the Mazda MX-5 also won the Design of the Year accolade at this year’s World Car of the Year awards. The MX-5 fended off the Jaguar XE and another Mazda, the CX-3, to earn this particular honour.
This year’s World Car of the Year awards and the MX-5 victories were overseen by a judging panel comprised of 73 prominent automotive journalists from around the world. A shortlist of three finalists were announced for each category of the 2016 World Car of the Year awards earlier this month during the Geneva Motor Show.
Other WCOTY winners
Other victors at the 2016 World Car of the Year awards include the latest Audi R8, which won in the Perfomance Car of the Year category. The German supercar beat the Mercedes C-Class C 63 AMG and the Honda Civic Type R in the process.
Also a winner is the hydrogen-run Toyota Mirai, which took the World Green Car category, beating the Chevrolet Volt and Toyota Prius.
Finally, the BMW 7 Series won this year’s World Luxury Car accolade, ahead of the Audi Q7 and the Volvo XC90.
