The Ignis from Suzuki was a runner up in this years ceremony, just being pipped to the post.

• Urban Category Runner-Up – 2017 World Car of The Year

Suzuki is very pleased to announce that the IGNIS is a Runner-Up in the Urban Car category of the 2017 World Car of The Year. The compact crossover was voted highly by the judges at a ceremony at the New York International Motor Show on April 12^th.

To qualify for the initial judging process, vehicles had to be less than four metres long, suitable in design for everyday use in an urban environment and also on sale across two Continents by the deadline of Spring 2017. 

At just 3.70 metres in length, the IGNIS Mini Crossover easily qualified, it was shortlisted in January and became a finalist with two other new cars in March.

World Car of The Year Juror, Director and Vice-Chair Mike Rutherford comments: "Suzuki has seen off many rival manufacturers from all corners of the globe to become a 2017 World Car finalist. 

As our 70-plus jurors have decided, Suzuki builds some of the finest small cars on the market - thus the IGNIS and Baleno being voted into our Top Five in the world, with IGNIS going on to be a Top three finalist, only narrowly missing out on being crowned World Urban Car winner. This astonishing success is all the more remarkable in view of its extremely low price tag. Here’s a great little crossover vehicle proving the point that a world class car can be very affordable”

The IGNIS was first launched in the Japanese domestic market, unveiled for Europe at the Paris Motor Show last Autumn and went on sale in January 2017. In addition to its stylish exterior design it features excellent visibility, compact dimensions and a spacious cabin with ample luggage space. It continues to be very popular with customers in the UK with sales of more than 3,200 since January.

Available from £10,249, IGNIS is powered by a 90PS 1.2-litre Dualjet petrol engine and can be specified with ALLGRIP four wheel drive. It also offers optional SHVS (Smart Hybrid Vehicle by Suzuki) technology on the SZ5 model that lowers CO₂ emissions to 97g/km.

IGNIS qualifies for Suzuki’s latest campaign whereby new models registered until the end of June 2017 will receive the equivalent discount of three years Vehicle Excise Duty of £420 off the price of the car at point of sale. There are also numerous low rate PCP finance options available including a £162 per month offer for the SZ3 model with just £162 initial deposit required. This is a 49 month agreement with an optional final payment of £3,982 to keep the car.

The Porsche Cayman & Boxster takes the Performance Car of The Year Award for 2017.

• AND NOW THERE IS ONE….
• FIFTH WORLD PERFORMANCE CAR WIN FOR PORSCHE
• Porsche Boxster Cayman - 2017 World Performance Car

The PORSCHE BOXSTER CAYMAN has been declared the 2017 World Performance Car during today’s press conference hosted by the New York International Auto Show, Bridgestone Corporation and Autoneum.

“We are honored that the 718 Boxster and 718 Cayman were selected as World Performance Car by such an esteemed, global jury,” said Klaus Zellmer, president and CEO of Porsche Cars North America. 

“With its striking appearance and superb performance and handling, the 718 Boxster and 718 Cayman follow in the footsteps of our legendary 718 mid-engine race cars.”

Porsche is no stranger to the World Car Awards program – now in its 13th year. Today’s win marks the 5^th time that Porsche has won the World Performance Car title. The company previously won in 2014 (Porsche 911 GT3), 2013 (Porsche Boxster/Cayman), 2012 (Porsche 911) and 2006 (Porsche Cayman S).

The PORSCHE BOXSTER CAYMAN was chosen from an initial entry list of seven cars from all over the world then a short list three finalists as announced Geneva last month: the Audi R8 Spyder, the McLaren 570s and the Porsche Boxster Cayman.

Candidates for the World Performance Car award must demonstrate a specific and overt sports/performance orientation while satisfying the same availability criteria as for the overall World Car of the Year award. 

Candidates may be chosen from the World Car of the Year list of eligible vehicles, or they may be newly introduced variants that satisfy the same criteria, but are derived from existing rather than brand-new models. In all cases, they must have a minimum annual production rate of five-hundred (500) vehicles.

Vehicles are selected and voted on by an international jury panel comprised of 75 top-level automotive journalists from 23 countries around the world. 

Each juror was appointed by the World Car Steering Committee on the basis of his or her expertise, experience, credibility, and influence. Each juror typically drives and evaluates new vehicles on a regular basis as part of their professional work. 

Through their respective outlets they collectively reach an audience of many millions world-wide. The international accounting firm KPMG tabulates the jurors’ ballots.

Previous World Performance Car winners were the Audi R8 Coupe (2016), the Mercedes-Benz AMG GT (2015), then three Porsche wins in a row: the 911 GTE in 2014, the Boxster/Cayman in 2013, and the 911 in 2012. Ferrari won the 2011 World Performance title for the 458 Italia while the Audi R8 V10 won in 2010, the Nissan GT-R in 2009, the Audi R8 in 2008, the Audi RS4 in 2007 and the Porsche Cayman S in 2006.

The Road to World Car began in Paris on September 29, was followed by test-drives in Los Angeles in November, continued in Geneva with the Top Three in the World announcement, and finally ended today with the declaration of the winners in six categories at the New York International Auto Show.

2017 marks the 11th anniversary of the partnership between World Car and the New York show, and the fourth consecutive year that the World Car Awards have retained their ranking as the number one automotive awards program in the world in terms of media reach.

The Global Trends Report, co-presented annually by Prime Research and Autoneum, was also released today.The report is the culmination of research and insights across the past six months. Autoneum CEO Martin Hirzel said, “The auto industry is in the midst of an upheaval that goes far beyond anything it has experienced in the past 100 years. 

Emerging industry trends such as autonomous driving, electric mobility and connected cars are changing not only vehicles and their technologies but also their concepts and forms. 

As the market leader in acoustic and thermal management for vehicles, Autoneum today already offers a large variety of multifunctional and lightweight technologies and components to meet the requirements of modern mobility. With our recently established “Competence Center for New Mobility” in Sunnyvale, California, Autoneum is taking a committed and active role in driving vehicle advancement by developing innovative technologies and components for all forms of mobility.”

World Car of the Year is more than just an awards program. The World Car community brings together a large cross section of experts and professionals from every segment of the automotive industry. World Car connects the global industry around the very best of today and inspires, with insights, the ideas and trends of tomorrow. Thus defining The Road Ahead platform shared with our presenting partners Bridgestone Corporation, Prime Research, Autoneum and, most recently, Brembo.

“As the world’s largest tire and rubber company, we are proud to partner with the World Car program for the 9th consecutive year,” said Mike Martini, president, original equipment tire sales, U.S. and Canada, Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations. 

“This is an important forum for leaders in the automotive industry to celebrate achievements in innovation, performance and sustainability. As new mobility preferences emerge, we must continue to collaborate across our industry to deliver cutting-edge technology and world-class products that meet the needs of a changing global customer base.”

In a rapidly changing automotive world, Brembo is also focused firmly on the future and the vehicles it will bring to market. Brembo is committing significant resources to perfecting ever more sophisticated virtual simulation methodologies that includes the study of forms, materials, technologies and surface treatments able to meet the needs of the new-generation vehicles, with a particular focus on environmental impact aspects, which drives all of Brembo’s development activities.