GOOD THINGS COME IN 3S
Audi’s A3 was named World Car of the Year, while BMW’S i3 won Best Green Car and Best Design,
NEW YORK— The new Audi A3 was named 2014 World Car of the Year at the New York International Auto Show this week.
It beat the latest-generation Mazda3 and the BMW 4 Series for the title. There were originally 24 new vehicles from around the world in the running, narrowed down to a short list of three.
“This really represents what Audi does extremely well,” said Scott Keogh, president of Audi America, when he accepted the award on Thursday morning.
“A lightweight, high-output, fuel-efficient engine, a connected car — the first car with 4G in the car, the first car with Google Earth integrated into the car — and we couldn’t be prouder to win this award.”
The Audi A3 arrived in Canadian and U.S. showrooms this month and has a base price of $31,100.
To be eligible, candidate vehicles must be sold on at least two continents. A panel of 69 automotive journalists from around the world, including myself, voted anonymously to select the winners.
The World Car jurors observed that the Audi “might borrow styling hints from its bigger brothers, but the A3 still offers classic, chiseled contours and even better interior trim levels.
With a superb choice of engines and four body styles, the A3 range packs a hefty premium punch in the small luxury segment.
“Audi should be complimented for mak- ing this A3 ride like no other A3. All the old shimmer over rough surfaces has gone, replaced by a silky smooth ride that approaches limousine quality.”
Winners were also announced for the year’s Best World Luxury Car, Best World Performance Car, Best World Green Car, and Best World Car Design of the Year.
BMW’s fully electric i3 won both the Green Car and the Best Design awards.
It will be sold in North America this
Jurors said the winner had a ride like no other A3
spring. It beat the Volkswagen XL1 and the Audi A3 Sportback G-Tron for the first award, and the Mazda3 and Mercedes-Benz C-Class for the second.
“The i3 is a real game-changer for us because it was purpose built out of carbon fibre,” said Stefan Sengewald, CFO of BMW North America.
“It was designed from the ground up to be an electric vehicle and we made no compromises. . . . No other car on the market represents such a holistic approach to sustainability as the i3. Every element of the i3, inside and out, promotes sustainability.
“(It has) an interior that’s made from using high-quality renewable sources, even to the key, which is based on castor oil, which is pressed from castor oil seeds.”
The jury stated that “from its lastkilometre navigation system to take drivers from car to destination, to the shipped-around-the-world carbonfibre-reinforced plastic body shell without a B-pillar, the BMW i3 pushes boundaries on many fronts.”
The Mercedes-Benz S-Class was named World Luxury Car, beating out the Range Rover Sport and the Bentley Flying Spur.
The Porsche 911 GT3 was named World Performance Car, beating the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray and the Ferrari 458 Speciale. Freelance writer Mark Richardson travelled to New York as a guest of Land Rover. wheels@thestar.ca