The Jeep Avenger has officially been named the 2023 Car of the Year at the Brussels International motor show after a judging panel comprising 57 leading motoring journalists from 23 countries cast their votes.
The all-electric Avenger, which arrives this year as Jeep's first electric car, was awarded the prestigious title ahead of six other shortlisted contenders and follows the Kia EV6, which took the prize last year.
The Jeep was a clear winner, with 328 points. Second was the Volkswagen ID Buzz, which scored 241 points, with the Nissan Ariya third (211 points).
The Kia Niro finished fourth (200 points), followed by the Renault Austral (163 points).
Rounding off the seven-car shortlist was the Peugeot 408 (149 points) and the Subaru Solterra/Toyota bZ4X (133 points).
The Avenger joins an acclaimed list of winners, including the Toyota Yaris in 2021, the Peugeot 208 in 2020 and the Jaguar I-Pace in 2019.
Other previous battery-electric winners include 2011’s Nissan Leaf, which impressed because of its versatile combination of a 107bhp motor and a 24kWh battery, which provided 80 miles of achievable range.
Now celebrating its 60th anniversary, the Car of the Year award was established in 1964 and was first handed out to the 110bhp Rover 2000. The award is supported by nine automotive publications across Europe, including Autocar.
With Russian votes suspended this year, the jury number sits at 57 compared with 61 in 2020. Each point awarded by the judging panel is totalled to determine the overall winner.
Every jury member has 25 points to award and may give no more than 10 points to any single car. Each judge must distribute points between at least five cars. Major factors under consideration include technical innovation and value for money.
The 2021 awards took place at the Palexpo exhibition centre in Geneva, Switzerland, which was due to host the Geneva International Motor Show, but the event was cancelled for the third year running due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Click the link to see how Autocar editor Mark Tisshaw voted in the 2023 Car of the Year awards.
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Yawn, yawn, yawn. Do we need a better example of why Car of the Year has become discredited and irrelevant? Ok the jurors we hardly spoilt for choice this year but this award is becoming as farcical as the European Song Contest. One change I would suggest that is made immediately is that the runner up and third placed car from the previous year is added to the finalists so that good cars that lost out previously are given a second opportunity. Furthermore I think the award should not be made unless the first placed car secures a high threshold of votes. I cannot understand why the jurors are now assessing vehicles that are not on sale in all the major European markets so have not had a full shake down in production form. It would be interesting as a feature for Autocar to go back over the years and with the value of hindsight reevaluated the finalists. I would suspect that in many years the "winners" would be eclipsed by so called also rans that proved to have more critical and public approval. I think I have forgotten how many Fiats and brands from the now Stellantis stable that have been awarded Car of the Year and quickly sunk into ignominy (and crumbled into rust).
Still pushing the EV agenda I see. Civic hybrid not even on the shortlist. Look forward to the reliability survey in a couple of years time.
Lightyear is showing the way electric cars need to go, low, light and slippery. SUVs and crossovers have had their day. Tall, fat, heavy and as aerodynamic as The Angel of the North in a headwind, is just not good enough anymore.