The win is Jaguar Land Rover's second overall victoryas the F-Pace won back in 2017. Aside from taking the overall title, the Jaguar I-Pace also bagged the World Green Car award which is the first time JLR has won in this category. Completing the trifecta was the World Car Design Award. The string of victories comes on the back of the Jaguar I-Pace winning the European Car of the Year title.
Other noteworthy wins went to the McLaren 720S for World Performance Car, Audi A7 took the World Luxury Car category and the Suzuki Jimny took top honours in the Urban Compact Car.
> Read more about: Suzuki Jimny Review (with video)
> Watch! – McLaren 720S on South African roads
Prof. Dr. Ralf Speth, Chief Executive Officer, Jaguar Land Rover, said: “It is an honour that the Jaguar I-PACE has received such an accolade from the prestigious World Car jurors.“We started with an ideal, to move towards our Destination Zero vision; zero emissions, zero accidents and zero congestion. I-Paceis our first step to achieving this, and it was conceived when EVs were little more than a niche choice.“So we started from a clean sheet of paper to create a new benchmark –the world's best premium electric vehicle, and a true Jaguar driver's car. “For I-PACE to be awarded 2019 World Car of the Year gives our first all-electric vehicle the ultimate recognition it deserves. I would like to thank the team who have created I-Pacefor their passion in making it so outstanding.”
The 2019 Top Three in the World finalists are the Audi e-tron, the Jaguar I-Paceand the Volvo S60/V60. The vehicles were selected and voted on by an international jury panel comprised of 86 prominent automotive journalists from 24 countries around the world, including Cars.co.za's Hannes Oosthuizen. "I drove the I-Pace late last year for the first time," says Oosthuizen, "and I must say it was immediately a frontrunner in my books. It is a very 'resolved' offering andseems to offer a marriage of genuine range and performance capability," he added.