The radical Toyota iQ, the planet’s smallest four-passenger car, has garnered the 2008 Japan Car of the Year award by a total victory over competitors such as the Citroën C5, Audi A4 and Jaguar XF. The ground-breaking iQ rated higher than double the points of the second placer, receiving the highest marks from 39 of the 65 judges who voted.
The board of judges hailed the iQ for its space economy and unique design, especially the iQ’s capacity for accommodating four people within a body that is less than three meters long, in addition to its combination of excellent safety levels and low CO2 discharges. However, this amazing result will not be replicated in the 2008 European Car of the Year. The reason is that sales in Europe begin only in January 2009, which is already way past the cut-off for the European COTY for 2008.
Read Article