2019 WCOTY Runner Ups Hyundai Santro, Kia Soul Are Big Winners

The 2019 World Car Of The Year Awards were announced recently at the New York Motor Show and we've already told you about the list of winners. Of course, it was a big win for Jaguar at the WCOTY and it gave tough competition to the likes of the Audi e-Tron and even the Volvo S60/V60 to win the top honours. However, it has been quite the year for manufacturers like Hyundai and Suzuki too. Hyundai's Nexo was one of the contenders for the World Car Of The Year Award but the car came in 6th place ahead of cars like the Genesis G70, BMW 3 Series and even the Ford Focus. This clearly shows how far the company has come in terms of making sure that the product is truly world class.

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The KIA Soul was trumped by a narrow margin by the Suzuki Jimny which won the World Urban Car Of The Year Award.

But Hyundai's biggest triumph was in the World Urban car and the World Green Car Award. The World Urban Car nominees were the Suzuki Jimny, Seat Arona, Audi A1, Hyundai Santro and the Kia Soul. Of course the Suzuki Jimny won this battle but it was a top three finish for the Hyundai Santro and even the Kia Soul. The Santro finished in third place in this category while the Kia Soul impressed with a second place finish. Now, if we turn back time, the Kia Stinger, which is a gorgeous looking car, missed out finishing in the top 3 in the Best Design category in 2018. This year, however, the Kia Soul missed out on the crown of the World Urban Car Of The Year by a mere 2 points. Yes, that was the narrowest of margins between the Kia Soul and the Suzuki Jimny. We were glad to see the Hyundai Santro finishing third in this category and just went to show that the company is making strides in the global markets.

Also Read: Besides Jaguar, Who Else Has Multiple World Car Wins?

The Hyundai Nexo was one of the nominees for the World Green Car Of The Year.

Even the World Green Car Of The Year saw the Hyundai Nexo place in third place edging the Kia Niro EV by just 8 points. The Nexo was beaten by the Audi e-Tron by 23 points and that's quite a performance.

Also Read: 2019 World Car Awards: Hyundai Santro, Suzuki Jimny Make It To The Top Finalists List

The 2019 Audi A7 won the World Luxury Car Of The Year Award.

But the winner by the closest of margins had to be in the World Luxury Car Of The Year category. The Audi A7 edged the Audi Q8 to take top honours with a gap of just 3 points. The Q8 beat the BMW 8 series by just 1 point and that clearly was a closely fought battle.