The Toyota iQ, the world’s smallest four-seater passenger car, has won the 2008 Japan Car of the Year award by a landslide over 41 rivals such as the Citroën C5, Audi A4, and Jaguar XF.
The innovative iQ scored more than double the points of the second placed car, receiving top marks from 39 of the 65 jurors.
The judges praised the iQ for its space, efficiency, and design, particularly the iQ’s capacity for seating four people within a body less than three metres long, as well as its combination of high levels of safety and low CO2 emissions.
The Japanese competition is run similar to the World Car awards and the Semperit Irish Car of the Year with a wide selection of new cars appraised and voted by motoring journalists. In Japan each of the 65 jurors has 25 points, of which 10 must be given to one car, and the remaining 15 points allocated to four other cars.
The new Toyota iQ goes on sale in Europe from January.
Results of Japan
Car of the Year 2008
1. Toyota iQ 526 points
2. Citroën C5 223 points
3. Nissan GT-R 201 points
4. Audi A4/ A4 Avant 180 points
5. Jaguar XF 115 points
6. Daihatsu Tanto 100 points
7. Fiat 500 90 points
8. Honda Freed 62 points
9. Mazda Atenza 60 points
10. Suzuki Wagon R/Wagon
R Stingray 37 points
