Kia to slug it out with Mazda for world crown

Kia’s Telluride will go up against two Mazdas, the CX-30 and Mazda3, in the battle for the World Car of the Year title after the vehicles were named as the top three finalists for the gong.

A jury of 86 international automotive journalists selected the trio, including the Telluride, pictured above, by secret ballot based on their evaluation of each vehicle as part of their professional work.

Part of the annual World Car Awards, the urban car category is a contest between the Kia Soul EV, Mini Electric and Volkswagen T-Cross, while the honour for world luxury car will be fought out by the Mercedes Benz EQC, and Porsche’s 911 and Taycan.

Porsche account for all three finalists in the world performance car section with the 718 Spyder/Cayman GT4, 911 and Taycan all in contention. In the design of the year section, the Mazda3, Peugeot 208 and Porsche Taycan make the top trio.

The Road to the World Car Awards is an annual journey that follows its jurors as they test-drive and vote on the eligible vehicles for the 2020 awards season.

There are several stops along the road, the first was in Los Angeles in November and the top 10 and top five finalists were announced at the Delhi Auto Show in New Delhi, India, in February. The awards will culminate with a ceremony at the New York International Auto Show on April 8 when the winners will be announced.

The Jaguar I-PACE was crowned World Car of the Year in 2019.

For more details, see www.worldcarawards.com.