The Peugeot 208 is the car of the year
The Car of the Year 2020 was presented under the auspices of the canceled Geneva Motor Show. A French small car wins the prestigious award.
Jury President Frank Janssen names the Peugeot 208 “Car of the Year 2020”
Out of 30 participating cars, seven were nominated for the trophy: BMW 1 Series, Tesla Model 3, Peugeot 208, Toyota Corolla, Renault Clio, Porsche Taycan and Ford Puma (from left to right)
The Peugeot 208 convinced the jury with its agile driving characteristics, its successful design and its modern assistance technology
Anything do it right at the PSA development center in Vélizy-Villacoublay. In the southwest of the French capital Paris, the Car of the Year 2017 was already created with the Peugeot 3008. In 2014, the Peugeot 308 won the most prestigious award in the automotive industry. And now, in 2020, another Peugeot wins the vote. The small car Peugeot 208 is the “Car of the Year 2020”, the car of the year 2020.
The car of the year is chosen by a jury of experts made up of 60 specialist journalists from 23 countries. Among them are six German jurors. Among the seven finalists, each juror distributes 25 points over at least five models and also provides a written justification for their choice. The final result of the Car of the Year 2020 election:
- Peugeot 208 | 281 points
- Tesla Model 3 | 242 points
- Porsche Taycan | 222 points
- Renault Clio | 211 points
- Ford Puma | 209 points
- Toyota Corolla | 152 points
- BMW 1 Series | 133 points
Car of the Year 2020: Ratings in detail
The judges were particularly impressed by the successful mix of agile driving characteristics, good design and contemporary assistance technology on the Peugeot 208. The jurors also praised the fact that the French offer electric drive as an equal drive type in their comments. “Every Peugeot 208, electrically or conventionally powered, can be moved with pleasure, because of the fast steering and agile handling,” says the reasoning. The equipment and the perceived quality are also convincing. “Peugeot beats its competitors in the small car segment with its choice of drive options,” said a juror.
Out of 30 participating cars, seven were nominated for the trophy: BMW 1 Series, Tesla Model 3, Peugeot 208, Toyota Corolla, Renault Clio, Porsche Taycan and Ford Puma (from left to right)
Corona virus: Cancellation of the Geneva Salon
Actually, the presentation of the car of the year traditionally opens the Geneva Motor Show. But the organizer Palexpo had to cancel it at the last minute: a few days before the opening of the fair, the Swiss Federal Council prohibited major events with more than 1,000 participants due to the spread of the corona virus. The award ceremony was then broadcast live on the Internet – without a live audience. Peugeot boss Jean-Philippe Imparato was also connected via video transmission from Great Britain.
“It was with great regret that we had to cancel the 90th edition of the Geneva Motor Show,” said Olivier Rihs, the responsible director of the motor show. Frank Janssen, President of the “Car of the Year” jury adds: “The Car of the Year is the most prestigious and traditional car award, founded in 1964.”
Part of the tradition of the car award is that the expert jury does not necessarily choose the most expensive and sophisticated model as the winner, but rather the most convincing overall package in its segment. There is no getting around new drives: Among the seven finalists are the Porsche Taycan and Tesla Model 3, two purely electric cars. The Peugeot is available as an electric car. All other finalists except for the BMW 1 Series are available as hybrids (Toyota, Renault) or mild hybrids (Ford).
The Peugeot 208 convinced the jury with its agile driving characteristics, its successful design and its modern assistance technology
Whether French design or electric drives: Janssen would like to present the award again in front of a live audience in 2021. The trade fair organizers are also likely to hope that the purely virtual appearance of many car manufacturers does not generate particularly successful key figures – so that they want to come back to Geneva next year.
Peugeot 208: Read our detailed car of the year review here
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