Volkswagen Golf Named 2013 World Car of the Year

11 years, 8 months ago - 28 March 2013, Autoblog

The second day of the New York Auto Show festivities have just kicked with the annual World Car of the Year awards, and we've just learned that the top honors for 2013 go to the seventh-generation Volkswagen Golf. The win marks the second in a row for Volkswagen, which also collected the hardware in 2012 for its Up! supermini.

The World Car awards are handed out by a panelist of 66 auto journalists from around the world, including Autoblog European Editor, Matt Davis. Runners-up for the big award included the Audi A3, Land Rover Range Rover, Mazda6, Mazda CX-5, Mercedes-Benz A-Class, Peugeot 208, Porsche Boxster/Cayman, Scion FR-S/Subaru BRZ/Toyota GT86 and Volvo V40.

Also announced this morning is the winner of the 2013 World Performance Car award. In this category, the Porsche Boxster and Cayman has been picked by the jury over a number of other contenders, including the Aston Martin Vanquish, Audi RS5, BMW M6, BMW M135i, Ferrari F12 Berlinetta, Mercedes-Benz SL63 AMG, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster, Renault Clio Sport and the Toyobaru triplets.

Moving to more eco-friendly matters, the World Green Car award has been handed to the – surprise, surprise – Tesla Model S. The all-electric sedan topped the Renault Zoe, Smart ForTwo Electric Drive, Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid and Volvo V60 Plug-In Hybrid Diesel.

Lastly, the annual World Car Design laurels have been awarded to the impossibly pretty Jaguar F-Type, besting other attractive finalists including the Aston Martin Vanquish, Renault Clio, Land Rover Range Rover, Mazda6 and Volkswagen Golf.