Browse over 9,000 car reviews

Women's world car of the year shortlist

Kia Kia News Kia Picanto Kia Picanto News Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz News Mercedes-Benz B-Class Mercedes-Benz B-Class News Mercedes-Benz C-Class Mercedes-Benz C-Class News Volkswagen Volkswagen News Volkswagen Up! Volkswagen Up! News Volkswagen Up! 2012 Ford Ford News Ford Focus Ford Focus News Ford Focus 2012 Volkswagen Golf Volkswagen Golf News Volkswagen Golf 2012 BMW BMW News BMW 1 Series BMW 1 Series News BMW 1 Series 2012 BMW 118d BMW 118d News BMW 118d 2012 BMW 120i BMW 120i News BMW 120i 2012 BMW 123d BMW 123d News BMW 123d 2012 BMW 125i BMW 125i News BMW 125i 2012 BMW 135i BMW 135i News BMW 135i 2012 BMW 1M BMW 1M News BMW 1M 2012 BMW 116i BMW 116i News BMW 116i 2012 BMW 118i BMW 118i News BMW 118i 2012 BMW M135i BMW M135i News BMW M135i 2012 Land Rover Land Rover News Range Rover Evoque Range Rover Evoque News Land Rover Range Rover Evoque 2012 Ferrari Ferrari News Ferrari 458 Ferrari 458 News Ferrari 458 2012 Renault Renault News Renault Megane Renault Megane News Renault Megane 2012 Jaguar Jaguar News Jaguar XKR Jaguar XKR News Jaguar XKR 2012 Audi Audi News Audi Q3 Audi Q3 News Audi Q3 2012 Kia Rio Kia Rio News Kia Rio 2012 Kia Optima Kia Optima News Kia Optima 2012 Mazda Mazda News Mazda CX-5 Mazda CX-5 News Mazda CX-5 2012 Ferrari FF Ferrari FF News Ferrari FF 2012 Hyundai Hyundai News Hyundai Accent Hyundai Accent News Hyundai Accent 2012 Subaru Subaru News Subaru XV Subaru XV News Subaru XV 2012 Lamborghini Lamborghini News Lamborghini Aventador Lamborghini Aventador News Lamborghini Aventador 2012 Mazda 3 Mazda 3 News Mazda 3 2012 Peugeot Peugeot News Peugeot 508 Peugeot 508 News Peugeot 508 2012 Audi RS5 Audi RS5 News Audi RS5 2012 Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class News Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class 2012 Mercedes-Benz SLK200 Mercedes-Benz SLK200 News Mercedes-Benz SLK200 2012 Mercedes-Benz SLK250 Mercedes-Benz SLK250 News Mercedes-Benz SLK250 2012 Mercedes-Benz SLK350 Mercedes-Benz SLK350 News Mercedes-Benz SLK350 2012 Mercedes-Benz SLK55 Mercedes-Benz SLK55 News Mercedes-Benz SLK55 2012 Audi A6 Audi A6 News Audi A6 2012 Honda Honda News Honda Civic Honda Civic News Honda Civic 2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class News Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class 2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS250 Mercedes-Benz CLS250 News Mercedes-Benz CLS250 2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS350 Mercedes-Benz CLS350 News Mercedes-Benz CLS350 2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS500 Mercedes-Benz CLS500 News Mercedes-Benz CLS500 2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS63 Mercedes-Benz CLS63 News Mercedes-Benz CLS63 2012 Audi A7 Audi A7 News Audi A7 2012 BMW 3 Series BMW 3 Series News BMW 3 Series 2012 BMW 320d BMW 320d News BMW 320d 2012 BMW 325i BMW 325i News BMW 325i 2012 BMW 330d BMW 330d News BMW 330d 2012 BMW 335i BMW 335i News BMW 335i 2012 BMW 318d BMW 318d News BMW 318d 2012 BMW 320i BMW 320i News BMW 320i 2012 BMW 323i BMW 323i News BMW 323i 2012 BMW 328i BMW 328i News BMW 328i 2012 BMW ActiveHybrid 3 BMW ActiveHybrid 3 News BMW ActiveHybrid 3 2012 BMW X Models BMW X Models News BMW X Models 2012 BMW X1 BMW X1 News BMW X1 2012 Ford Fiesta Ford Fiesta News Ford Fiesta 2012 Jaguar XJ Jaguar XJ News Jaguar XJ 2012 BMW 6 Series BMW 6 Series News BMW 6 Series 2012 BMW 640i BMW 640i News BMW 640i 2012 BMW 650i BMW 650i News BMW 650i 2012 Bentley Bentley News Bentley Continental Bentley Continental News Bentley Continental 2012 Convertible Best Convertible Cars Kia Convertible Range Mercedes-Benz Convertible Range Volkswagen Convertible Range Ford Convertible Range BMW Convertible Range Land Rover Convertible Range Ferrari Convertible Range Renault Convertible Range Jaguar Convertible Range Audi Convertible Range Mazda Convertible Range Hyundai Convertible Range Subaru Convertible Range Lamborghini Convertible Range Peugeot Convertible Range Honda Convertible Range Bentley Convertible Range Coupe Best Coupe Cars Kia Coupe Range Mercedes-Benz Coupe Range Volkswagen Coupe Range Ford Coupe Range BMW Coupe Range Land Rover Coupe Range Ferrari Coupe Range Renault Coupe Range Jaguar Coupe Range Audi Coupe Range Mazda Coupe Range Hyundai Coupe Range Subaru Coupe Range Lamborghini Coupe Range Peugeot Coupe Range Honda Coupe Range Bentley Coupe Range Hatchback Best Hatchback Cars Kia Hatchback Range Mercedes-Benz Hatchback Range Volkswagen Hatchback Range Ford Hatchback Range BMW Hatchback Range Land Rover Hatchback Range Ferrari Hatchback Range Renault Hatchback Range Jaguar Hatchback Range Audi Hatchback Range Mazda Hatchback Range Hyundai Hatchback Range Subaru Hatchback Range Lamborghini Hatchback Range Peugeot Hatchback Range Honda Hatchback Range Bentley Hatchback Range Sedan Best Sedan Cars Kia Sedan Range Mercedes-Benz Sedan Range Volkswagen Sedan Range Ford Sedan Range BMW Sedan Range Land Rover Sedan Range Ferrari Sedan Range Renault Sedan Range Jaguar Sedan Range Audi Sedan Range Mazda Sedan Range Hyundai Sedan Range Subaru Sedan Range Lamborghini Sedan Range Peugeot Sedan Range Honda Sedan Range Bentley Sedan Range SUV Best SUV Cars Kia SUV Range Mercedes-Benz SUV Range Volkswagen SUV Range Ford SUV Range BMW SUV Range Land Rover SUV Range Ferrari SUV Range Renault SUV Range Jaguar SUV Range Audi SUV Range Mazda SUV Range Hyundai SUV Range Subaru SUV Range Lamborghini SUV Range Peugeot SUV Range Honda SUV Range Bentley SUV Range Car News
...
The announcement of the winning cars in each category and the supreme winner will be made before the end of March.
The announcement of the winning cars in each category and the supreme winner will be made before the end of March.
CarsGuide team
29 Feb 2012
3 min read

Kids aren’t usually a factor in Car of the Year judging.  But child friendliness rates highly with women buying cars – and with women judging cars.

The countdown has been kicked off to decide the Women’s World Car of the Year, and the kid factor is one the judges pay a lot of attention to.

“Statistics show that women drive children in cars significantly more often than men – and that means women need to take that into account, both when buying and as judges of cars,” WCOTY president Sandy Myhre said from New Zealand.

“Any woman who has grappled constantly with child seats and belts and children considers those things when looking at buying a car.  Men might too but the fact is, women drive children in cars more than men.

“Women would not consider that aspect in a Porsche 911 more than a bloke. The point is, it can be considered in these awards - and that is one of the points of difference in these awards.”

Myhre points out that significant research into buying habits show that in addition to buying for themselves, women have a major influence in household purchase decisions for big ticket items.

Ford Australia, for example, says their research shows that women are behind the majority of purchases of the Territory SUV – either as single women buying one, or in influencing the joint decision with their partner. 

“A report from Mattingly & Associates in Australia concluded, in part, that businesses that didn't understand this influence would be hard-pressed to stay in business.  That report was aptly called 'When I've Made Up Our Minds',” Myhre says.

However, the kid factor is just one of the criteria by which the 2012 Women’s World Car of the Year will be judged.

There are four categories in the Women's World Car of the Year – Family Car, Luxury Car, Sports Car and Economy Car. Points are allocated to each of ten criteria: driveability, engineering, comfort, child friendliness, style, interior, storage, dashboard efficiency, carbon footprint and colour range.

The 20 judges from eleven countries have submitted their own personal short list and more than 300 cars were suggested. These individual choices were then whittled down to form a master list of 32 in terms of popularity. Judges will now allocate points for these cars from a criteria list.

The announcement of the winning cars in each category and the supreme winner will be made before the end of March. The supreme award trophy and category certificates will be presented to the car companies concerned at the Mondial de l’Automobile 2012 – the Paris Motor Show – in September. The supreme trophy will this year be made in The Netherlands. Category-winner certificates will be designed at Peartree Studios in Colerne, UK.

The first winner of the Women's World Car of the Year was the Jaguar XF in 2010 and the trophy made in South Africa was presented at the Jaguar boutique showroom in Knightsbridge, London. In 2011 there was a dead-heat between the Citroen DS3 and the BMW 5 Series. The two trophies made in India were presented at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2011.

WOMEN'S WORLD CAR OF THE YEAR 2012 - OFFICIAL SHORT LIST
FAMILY CAR
  • Ford Focus
  • Kia Optima
  • Mercedez-Benz B-Class
  • Mazda CX-5
  • Audi Q3
  • Subaru XV
  • BMW X1
LUXURY CAR
  • Range Rover Evoque
  • Audi A6
  • Audi A7
  • BMW 3 Series
  • Jaguar XJ
  • Mercedes Benz C-Class
  • Bentley Continental
  • BMW 6 Series
  • Peugeot 508
SPORTS CAR
  • Porsche 911 – 991
  • Audi RS5
  • Ferrari FF
  • BMW Series 1 M
  • Lamborghini Aventador
  • Mercedes Benz CLS  AMG
  • Jaguar XKR
  • Renault Megane III
  • Ferrari 458 Spider
  • VW Golf R
  • Mercedes-Benz SLK
ECONOMY CAR
  • VW Up!
  • Kia Picanto
  • Honda Civic
  • Ford Fiesta Econetic
  • Kia Rio
  • Honda CRZ
  • Mazda 3 Skyactiv
  • Hyundai Accent Diesel

 

CarsGuide team
The CarsGuide team of car experts is made up of a diverse array of journalists, with combined experience that well and truly exceeds a century.  We live with the cars we test, weaving them into our family lives to highlight any strenghts and weaknesses to help you make the right choice when buying a new or used car.  We also specialise in adventure to help you get off the beaten track and into the great outdoors, along with utes and commercial vehicles, performance cars and motorsport to cover all ends of the automotive spectrum.  Tune in for our weekly podcast to get to know the personalities behind the team, or click on a byline to learn more about any of our authors. 
About Author

Comments