The best cars in the world are heading to New York City.
In about a month, April 17, the World Car of the Year (WCOTY) and other award winners for 2019 will be announced at the New York International Auto Show.
It has been a long, LONG road that began with nominations last August for awards that some automotive insiders consider among the most-coveted in the auto industry.
Is this Volvo the best car in the world overall for 2019?
At that time, 39 vehicles were in contention for the top WCOTY prize, but now just three remain – the Audi e-tron, Jaguar I-PACE and Volvo S60/V60, which were selected from among 10 finalists. The least expensive among them is the Volvo with an MSRP of $38,900
But the best World Car overall isn’t the only awards category, as WCOTY will name winners in five others – Luxury Car, Performance Car, Urban Car, Green Car and Car Design.
The I-PACE also is in contention in the Green and Design categories and the e-tron in the Green group.
The World Urban Car top three may be the most affordable, including the Kia Soul with an MSRP of $16,490. The other nominees, the Hyundai AH2/Santro and Suzuki Jimny are not available in the U.S.
Altogether, 14 cars were judged strong enough to compete for the top awards.
World Car contenders by category are:
World Car overall
Audi e-tron
Jaguar I-PACE
Volvo S60/V60
Others considered:
BMW 3 Series
Ford Focus
Genesis G70
Hyundai Nexo
Mercedes-Benz A-Class
Suzuki Jimny
Volvo XC40
Luxury Car
Audi A7
Audi Q8
BMW 8 Series
Others considered:
Mercedes-Benz CLS
Volkswagen Touareg
Performance Car
Aston Martin Vantage
McLaren 720S
Mercedes-Benz AMG 4-door coupe
Others considered:
BMW M2 Competition
Hyundai Veloster N
Urban Car
Hyundai AH2/Santro
Kia Soul
Suzuki Jimny
Others considered:
Audi A1
SEAT Arona
Green Car
Audi e-tron
Hyundai Nexo
Jaguar I-PACE
Others considered:
Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid
Kia Niro EV
Car Design
Jaguar I-PACE
Suzuki Jimny
Volvo XC40
Others considered:
Citroen C5 Aircross
Jaguar E-PACE
The WCOTY awards began in 2005 and winners have been announced at the New York International Auto Show since 2006. Selections are made by an international jury of 86 automotive journalists.
