Traditionally, the final of the Car of the Year election takes place on the eve of the Geneva Motor Show. That car fair is canceled, but the Car of the Year party is! The Toyota Yaris has been named Car of the Year 2021!
A total of 29 cars had a chance to win the title Car of the Year 2021, although it had not been so exciting for the majority of those cars for some time. At the beginning of this year, the 59-headed jury of the annual Car of the Year election already crossed 21 models from the candidate list, after which a short-list of seven models remained. Of those seven models, the Toyota Yaris has now been voted Car of the Year 2021.
The Toyota Yaris eventually took in 266 points and thus stayed ahead of its opponents. The six finalists who must recognize their superior in the Toyota Yaris are the Citroën C4, the new Fiat 500, the Skoda Octavia, the Volkswagen ID3, the Cupra Formentor and the Land Rover Defender. Last year, the Peugeot 208 won the Car of the Year title. In 2019 it was the Jaguar I-Pace that claimed the top spot on the podium. Incidentally, the first Yaris also took the title in 2000.
In theory, any new model can compete for the prize, provided it has been marketed in at least five European countries in the last 12 months. In 1964, the title Car of the Year was awarded for the first time, to the Rover 2000, an Englishman who then left behind the Mercedes-Benz 600 and the Hillman Imp, speaking of extremes.