And the Award for Japan’s Car of the Year Goes to Mazda2

This year’s most coveted car award in Japan – the Car of the Year,

went to the all new Mazda2. It significantly beat out the competition from Mercedes-Benz C-Class by just 19 votes. This has undoubtedly been one of the closest wins in the history of the country’s Car of the year award. It has received 423 votes in total. This is the second time that the automaker has won this prestigious award, after the CX-5 took away the honors back in 2012.

2016 Mazda 2

Japan’s Car of the Year, has a very unique format. There are 59 jurors with 25 votes a piece. The jurors are required to give 10 votes to the car that they like the most and the rest of the votes are to be distributed among next four best cars. This time 22 out of 59 jurors gave their majority votes to the Mazda2 and 18 jurors casted their majority votes to the C-Class. The third place was taken up by the BMW i3 after getting 340 votes and the Subaro finished in the fourth place with 124 votes. The fifth and last spot was taken up by the Suzuki Hustler with 65 votes.

Mazda’s EVP, Kiyoshi Fujiwara, said, “With the Mazda2, we have rewritten the rule book for compact cars. Our new Skyactiv technology, excellent mileage, reasonable pricing and unique design all contributed to our victory today”.

Recently a number of subcompact models have entered the market and the Mazda2 undoubtedly tops the list of those. The car has been launched for sale in Japan this fall and it is going to be launched in the international markets early next year. With impressive fuel economy for both auto makers and car buyers and a design that is both chic and provides optimum usability, this car has already impressed the most practical of car critics. The Mazda2 has managed to concoct the perfect blend of new sense of frugality and a good amount of sportiness. It features new 6-speed manual and 6-speed automatic transmissions which are noticeably lightweight having been specially designed for the front-wheel-drive Mazda2.With Bluetooth, USB and navigation even on higher trims, this car is worth a look.