Peugeot 208
French supermini takes prestigious award ahead of Tesla Model 3 and Porsche Taycan
The Peugeot 208 has won the European Car of the Year Award, taking the trophy by a comfortable margin over the Tesla Model 3.
The French supermini was named the winner of the prestigious award in a ceremony hosted at the Palexpo exhibition centre, where the Geneva motor show was due to begin tomorrow (Tuesday) until it was cancelled.
Notably, the top four finishers in this year’s award were either pure electric vehicles, or offered full electric versions among a range of powertrain options.
The 208, which is offered with both combustion engines and electric powertrains, took a clear win when the votes from the jury were added up. It scored 281 points, ahead of two full EVs: the Model 3, which scored 242 points, and the Porsche Taycan (222 points).
The Renault Clio, a class-rival to the 208 also offered with petrol engines and full elecric options, took fourth ahead of the Ford Puma. The Toyota Corolla was sixth, with the BMW 1 Series seventh.
Peugeot boss Jean-Philippe Imperato said winning the award was “a great honour”. He added: “We love cars, and we recoginise the Car of the Year jury is made up of experts, so we are honoured to win. It’s a big surprise and a big pleasure for us.”
Peugeot has enjoyed plenty of success in the Car of the Year award in recent years, previously winning in 2014 with the 308 and 2017 with the 3008.
In total, the French firm has now won the trophy six times, with the 504 (1969), 405 (1988) and 307 (2002) also taking top honours.
The Car of the Year award is run by seven European motoring publications, which include Autocar. The award is voted on by a jury comprising 60 journalists, including Autocar’s Matt Prior and Andrew Frankel, from 23 countries.
The Car of the Year award was established in 1964, with the Rover 2000 taking honours.
The fully electrie Jaguar I-Pace won the prize last year.
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Source: Autocar
