Women's World Car of the Year awards: the cars women want to drive and why

Alix Capper Murdoch, one of the judges at this year’s awards, says safety and entertainment are paramount for female car buyers

Mazda 3 was the supreme winner in the Women's World Car of the Year awards in 2019

Engine output aside, keeping children safe, and entertained, rates highly among women buying cars, and with women judging cars. Just ask the team behind the Women’s World Car of the Year, the only automobile awards comprised exclusively of female motoring journalists, including me, as I represent the UAE. This year, the winning cars will be announced at the end of February.

Statistics show that women drive children in cars significantly more often than men

The event was created by New Zealander Sandy Myhre in 2009, and the voting criteria is based on the same principles that guide any driver when choosing a car. It is not a “woman’s car”; it is a car that women want, like and respect because of its ability to tick the boxes that we look for most.

Aspects such as safety, quality, price, design, ease of driving, benefits and environmental footprint, among others, are taken into account.

“Statistics show that women drive children in cars significantly more often than men, and that means women need to take that into account,” says Myhre. “Any woman who has tried to keep her children entertained while paying attention to the road ahead considers those things when looking at buying a car. Women would not consider that aspect in a Porsche 911 more than a bloke. The point is, it can be considered in our judging – and that is one of the points of difference in these awards.”

The Range Rover Evoque won in the best SUV/Crossover category in 2019

Buying behaviour  

The Middle East market has seen a huge increase in women buying supercars and luxury SUVs, either as an individual or as joint decision-makers with their partner. But it’s fair to say the top features to influence their purchases are based more around safety features and aesthetics than horsepower and torque.

When it comes to purchasing decisions, female automobile buyers face something of a paradox. On the one hand, women have had more say in the purchase of a family car in recent years, and many feel a car is a tool that needs to fit with their lifestyle, from the school run and the weekly shop to the business meeting.

On the other hand, most women still dread the car-buying experience, and with good reason. Women often get ignored, patronised or ripped off at car dealerships. The overarching aim of the WWCOTY awards, then, is to show women that, yes, buying a car can be filled with unexpected twists and turns, but remaining confident, researching your choices and being savvy can go a long way.

How the awards work

Despite a difficult year and a short postponement, the countdown to this year’s WWCOTY awards has begun, and innovations in city safety and modern entertainment features are key areas the judges pay attention to. The awards now boast judges representing the UAE, New Zealand, Spain, Austria, Russia, Brazil, Japan, Cyprus, Italy, Finland, the US Germany, Portugal, Argentina, Mexico, South Africa, Canada, Vietnam, Ireland, Estonia, Israel, Chile, England, Scotland, Greece, Colombia, Australia, The Netherlands, India, Denmark, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Czech Republic, Ecuador, France, Peru, China and Algeria.

Jaguar F-Pace is a past winner of the awards. Courtesy Jaguar Land Rover

In total, there are 47 judges from all five continents who, in the coming weeks, will choose their three favourite cars in various categories – urban car, family car, green car, luxury car, performance car, SUV/crossover – before allocating points to whittle the list down until there is one clear winner in each category, plus one supreme winner.

The winning cars have historically been announced at one of the international motor shows. However, the pandemic means this could be the first year that the winner is announced online.

Previous winners

The first supreme winner of the Women's World Car of the Year was the Jaguar XF in 2010.

In 2011, there was a dead-heat between the Citroen DS3 and the BMW 5 Series. The two trophies, made in India, were presented at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.

This was followed by Range Rover Evoque, Ford Fiesta, Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Volvo XC90, Jaguar F-Pace, Hyundai Ioniq and, in 2018, Volvo XC-40.

Last year, the team came together in the UAE at the Dubai International Motor Show to hand over the supreme winner’s trophy to Mazda 3, which also won in the Family Car Award category. Other winners included: Kia XCeed (Urban Car Award), Kia Soul EV (Green Car Award), BMW 8 Series (Luxury Car), Porsche 911 (Performance Car), Range Rover Evoque (SUV/Crossover) and Porsche Taycan (Holly Reach Dream Car), plus Linda Jackson, CEO of Citroen, who took home the Woman of Worth Award.

The winners of the Women’s World Car of the Year 2020 will be announced at the end of February. More information is at www.womensworldcoty.com