BMW i3 Wins World Car of the Year Award for Design and Environment

Each year, a group of the world’s top automotive journalist nominate outstanding new vehicles for the prestigious World Car of the Year awards. The top 10 finalists were announced in February, but now the winners of the five individual awards that make up WCOTY have been announced at the New York Auto Show.

To be eligible for the awards, a vehicle must be new and go on sale on at least two continents during the time period between January 1, 2013 and May 30, 2014. This year, the 69-member jury presented the BMW i3 – now on sale at Braman BMW in Jupiter – with awards for the 2014 World Green Car and the 2014 World Car Design of the Year.

In the Green Car category, The i3 defeated the Audi A3 Sportback e-tron (+ Audi e-gas) and the Volkswagen XL1 in the voting, with experts commenting that, “Radical in looks, construction, and powertrain, the BMW i3 is one of very few clean-sheet-of-paper cars designed from the ground up for efficiency, with the different needs of the new century’s megacities in mind. From its last-kilometer navigation system to take drivers from car to destination, to the shipped-around-the-world carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic body shell without a B-pillar, the BMW i3 pushes boundaries on many fronts”.

In the Design category, the i3 won out over the Mazda3 and Mercedes-Benz C-Class. The experts commented that: “Unlike other BMW cars, the i3 has a boxy shape, which suggests roominess and efficiency. But it still retains BMW’s typical dynamism thanks to the larger diameter wheels and the very short overhangs both on front and rear. Besides that, the i3 expresses the sub-brand’s own character with using unique design features, including the black bonnet and the side window graphics that goes through the rear pillar. The interior is more surprising and attractive. It marks radical leap of car interior design, and it spreads as calm yet rich feeling as a modern living room.”

For more information about the BMW i3, or to schedule a test drive, please visit Braman BMW Jupiter.