When the prize at stake is The Car of the Year title, there is no room for a soft game.
By Maciek Ziemek (Drivemode / Poland)
Winning the most prestigious title in the automotive industry – victory in the Car of the Year competition – is very rarely decided by such a large points gap as in the 1999 and 2013 editions. In the first case, Ford Focus triumphed with 444 points to 272 (a margin of 172 points). Opel Astra finished in second place on the podium.
The 2013 Car of the Year title went to the Volkswagen Golf. It did not surpass the Focus’s points tally, scoring “only” 414 points, but it outclassed its rivals even more decisively than Ford’s compact model had done. That year, second place with 202 points (a huge 212-point gap) went to the twin models Toyota GT86 / Subaru BRZ.
Ford vs Opel – 5:5
Both Ford and Opel have claimed five Car of the Year victories each. Ford won in 1981 (Escort), 1986 (Scorpio), 1994 (Mondeo), 1999 (Focus), and 2007 (S-Max), while Opel triumphed in 1985 (Kadett), 1987 (Omega), 2009 (Insignia), 2012 (Ampera), and 2016 (Astra).
The battle between the two brands for the Car of the Year title was often decided by the narrowest of margins. When the S-Max won in 2007, second place went to the Corsa, just 2 points behind (235 to 233).
The outcome of the 2009 Car of the Year was decided by a single point. Insignia celebrated the title after defeating the Fiesta by 321 points to 320.
Just one point also decided the title in 2001, but that time Ford was battling Alfa Romeo. The 147 defeated the Mondeo by 238 points to 237.
The crazy year of 2019
Every competition would dream of a finale like the one seen in 2019. After the jury votes were counted, it turned out that two finalists had received exactly the same number of points – 250.
The victory of the electric Jaguar i-Pace over the sporty Alpine A110 was decided by the number of first-place votes each car received. By the slimmest margin possible, Jaguar emerged victorious. 18 jurors placed Jaguar first, while 17 chose Alpine.
Third place that year went to the Kia Ceed, which collected just 3 points fewer than Alpine and Jaguar. It may be a long time before we see another contest as closely fought as that one.
https://drivemode.pl/coty/najbardziej-zaciete-pojedynki-w-historii-konkursu-car-of-the-year