Toyota iQ is Japan's Car Of The Year

After bagging the grand prize at the Good Design Award domestically, the little tyke that is the Toyota iQ has won the 2008 Japan Car of the Year award, and by a landslide. The innovative iQ scored more than double the points of the second placed vehicle, receiving top marks from 39 of the 65 jurors who voted for the 41 vehicles on the list.

The judges praised the iQ for its space efficiency and design, particularly the car's capacity for seating four people within a body less than three metres long, as well as its combination of high levels of safety and low CO2 emissions.

This incredible result, however, will not be repeated in the 2008 European Car of the Year. The reason is that sales of the car in Europe won't begin until Jan 2009, past the cut-off for the European COTY for the year.

Both Japanese and European COTY competitions are run in similar ways with a wide selection of new cars appraised and voted on by motoring journalists. In Japan, each of the 65 jurors have 25 points, of which 10 have to be given to one car, and the remaining 15 points allocated to four other cars.

Results of Japan Car of the Year 2008
1. Toyota iQ - 526 points
2. Citroën C5 - 223 points
3. Nissan GT-R - 201 points
4. Audi A4/A4 Avant - 180 points
5. Jaguar XF - 115 points
6. Daihatsu Tanto - 100 points
7. Fiat 500 - 90 points
8. Honda Freed - 62 points
9. Mazda Atenza - 60 points
10. Suzuki Wagon R/Wagon R Stingray - 37 points
11. Subaru Exiga - 31 points