Toyota Yaris, as Car of the Year 2021, comes to join double CotY winners Renault Clio and Volkswagen Golf. For, in 2000, the small car conceived in Japan and made in France won the title for its compactness, bold style and lively 1-litre engine.

As one PSA manager recently pointed, the 205, first model in the saga of modern-era small Peugeots, lost the CotY award to Fiat Punto by a small margin 36 years ago. New Peugeot 208, Car of the Year 2020, stages kind of a cold and distant revenge in the segment, even if the manufacturer has not been short of CotY titles lately: three now since 2014.

Winner with 250 points only after counting its top marks, Jaguar I-Pace has achieved a surprising feat in a contest usually characterized by down-to-earth criteria as value for money. But jurors greatly appreciated another top preference reason in CotY: innovation. The enjoyable Alpine A110, with the same amount of points, has also flown well over its affordability and seating limitation. And the Kia Ceed, with 247 points, was very close to win too.