Ladies Love It: Ford Fiesta Wins Womens World Car of the Year

The CX-5 and Range Rover won the SUV and Luxury Car categories, respectively, and the Boxster S laid claim to the Sports Car category, beating the runner up Audi RS5 and third place Toyota GT86/Subaru BRZ(or Scion FR-S). The Audi Allroad was named the Family car of the year.

The panel consisted of 18 female automotive writers from around the world tasked with picking the best car in each of eight categories, including top vehicle overall, using criteria that women utilize when shopping for a car. That includes safety, value-for-money, aesthetic appearance, storage space, child-friendliness, ease-of-driving, color, sex appeal and environmental footprint.

For 2013, the award's categories were changed, and the three-tier voting system helps to ensure cars are thoroughly vetted before they become category finalists or winners. Judges supply their own list of 2013 models they've tested, which are whittled down to a shortlist of finalists for each category. From there, judges pick their winner and two runners up in each category, which are tallied up for the official results.

The Fiesta was praised by the panel for being a jack of all trades – judges described it as being stylish, fuel-efficient, fun to drive and technologically advanced – and having good value for the money, important factors that helped it beat the competition.