Peugeot 308 takes top trophy in Women’s World Car of the Year

MANILA: The journalists of the Women's World Car of the Year (WWCOTY) body have chosen the Peugeot 308 as the World's Best Car and Best Urban Car  for 2022.

The WWCOTY named its winner during International Women's Day, (March 8) because it "gives women a voice and because of the link in many countries between the automobile and personal autonomy," a release stated. 

"The Peugeot 308 is an automobile that offers just about everything you could want in a car," WWCOTY Honorary President and New Zealand broadcaster Sandy Myhre said. 

"It drives very well and it's hard to believe there's only a 1.2-liter engine under the bonnet of most versions," she added. 

Meanwhile, Malene Raith from Denmark described the 308 as "not an expensive dream car for the lucky few, but a car that most families can afford." 

Before casting their votes, the 56 motoring journalists from 40 countries tested dozens of models and evaluated every detail.

In the first round of voting, the best cars in each category were chosen from a total of 65 candidates. In the second round, these finalists were used as the basis for the selection of the World's Best Car 2022. 

The Peugeot 308 is the brand’s third model to win a WWCOTY category in just two years, following the double victory of the Peugeot 2008 (Urban SUV category) and Peugeot 208 (Urban Vehicle category) in 2021.

As for the other WWCOTY awards, the Kia Sportage compact SUV was named the best Family SUV.

The Large SUV and Large Car of Year awards went to fully electric vehicles BMW iX and Ford Mustang Mach-E, respectively. The Jeep Wrangler 4xe hybrid SUV bagged the 4x4 of Year title. 

The Audi e-tron GT was awarded the Performance Car of the Year accolade.