Impreza impresses the judges
December 16, 2016
Subaru’s new Impreza has been awarded the top accolade as Car of the Year Japan in a close battle with another Japanese motor, the Toyota Prius.
The super-fast Impreza collected 420 votes, beating the Prius by a margin of 49.
This win gave Subaru only its second ever Japanese Car of the Year award and its first in 13 years.
There was a close battle for third place too which went to the Audi A4 which polled 149 votes and captured the Import Car of the Year trophy, just four votes ahead of the Volvo XC90.
In accepting the award, Impreza chief engineer Kazuhiro Abe said: “When we started developing the Impreza over four years ago, never did I imagine I’d be standing here today with such a prestigious award.
“This must be what it feels like to win an Olympic gold. The Impreza’s new global platform has great meaning for the company moving forward and will underpin nearly all of our cars over the next decade. On behalf of all of my R&D team, I’d like to thank the jurors for their support of this car.”
Also given high marks for its performance and handling, the BMW M2 triumphed in the Emotional Award, while the Honda NSX picked up the Car of the Year Japan steering committee’s special award for its V6 twin-turbo hybrid powertrain.
The new Impreza is due to arrive in the UK before next summer.
Latest News
Kia UK’s EV sales top the 100,000 mark
Kia has sold its 100,000th electric vehicle in the UK, becoming one of the [...]
JAECOO 7 is top selling model for March
The JAECOO 7 has been confirmed as the UK’s best-selling new car in [...]
Warning drivers about ULEZ charges
A new survey conducted by Regit suggests many motorists remain unclear on how [...]
Nissan LEAF scoops the top car honours
The all-new Nissan LEAF has been named the overall winner for 2026 by [...]
XPENG invites artists to come forward
XPENG UK is inviting artists and creatives across the country to submit their [...]
Introducing the new 2026 Toyota RAV4
With more than 15 million sales globally, there’s no denying the success story [...]
Volvo unveils its EX60 ‘game-changer’
Volvo has launched what is being billed as its most important car ever [...]
The Brussels Motor Show highlights
The constant clicking of the camera lenses and the bulky press packs may [...]
Polestar 3 awarded top safety honour
Polestar 3 has been awarded Euro NCAP’s Best in Class award for safest [...]
Dacia Bigster has starring role to play
Dacia is offering an otherworldly way to experience the great outdoors with a [...]
Honda gives its badge a fresh new look
Honda cars will be given a fresh new-look with the introduction of a [...]
Finalists announced for WWCOTY title
Women’s Worldwide Car of the Year (WWCOTY) has announced the category winners of [...]
Mercedes CLA scoops the top honours
The all-new Mercedes-Benz CLA has been awarded the European Car of the Year [...]
Stay safe in freezing driving conditions
Road safety and breakdown organisation GEM Motoring Assist is urging drivers to prepare [...]
Home charging is kind on the waistline
Drivers switching to charging their electric vehicles at home are discovering an unexpected [...]