Women's Worldwide Car of the Year announces 2025 category winners

The Women's Worldwide Car of the Year is pleased to announce the winners of the eight categories in this year’s award: Urban Model, Compact SUV, Large Car, Large SUV, 4x4 and Pick-Up, Performance and Luxury Car, Best Tech and Sandy Myhre Award for the most pro-woman brand.

All these vehicles represent excellence in terms of safety, driving, technology, comfort, efficiency, environmental impact, value for money and gender equality. A total of 81 candidates were in the running to win one of the WWCOTY categories.

All of them must meet the requirement of having been launched in at least two continents or 40 countries between January and December 2024. This is the 15th edition of the awards presented by WWCOTY which consists of an organization of 82 women motoring journalists from 55 countries on five continents.

It is the only all-female jury in the automotive industry worldwide. Marta García, president of the Women's Worldwide Car of the Year, said: "The work of the juries has not been easy because this year there have been more contenders than ever before.

“There are new brands and models with an ever-increasing quality. No vote has been given at random.

“They have all been subjected to demanding test drives, detailed analysis and demanding competitor studies. That's why the WWCOTY awards are a benchmark for millions of buyers around the world."

The result is six unbeatable models, six cars that represent excellence in their category, automobiles that deserve one of the Women's Worldwide Car of the Year awards. These six winners now announced will go through to the final round of judging to determine the winner of WWCOTY's top award.

The Women's Worldwide Car of the Year winner will be announced on the //www.14dd5266c70789bdc806364df4586335-gdprlock/@womensworldwidecaroftheyear">Women’s Worldwide Car of the Year Youtube Channel at 00:00 (New Zealand time) on 6 March, two days before of the International Women's Day. Coinciding with the announcement of the best in each category, the Women's Worldwide Car of the Year also announces the winner of two important awards: the Best Tech Award for the best technology in the automotive world and the Sandy Myhre Award for the brand most committed to women.

2025 Women’s Worldwide Car of the Year Winners:

Mini Cooper. Best Urban Model: The Mini Cooper stands out for its agility and feel at the wheel. Its handling is reminiscent of racing go-karts. At 3.88 m long, the Mini Cooper is available with combustion and electric engines. It is fast in city traffic and fun on curvy stretches, where its small dimensions are a bonus. The interior perfectly combines retro details with the most advanced technologies.

Kia EV3. Best Compact SUV: This is a 4.30-metre long, 204 hp, 100% electric compact SUV. It can be powered by two batteries, with 436 km and 605 km respectively of approved range. It is currently available only with front-wheel drive, although a version with two motors and four-wheel drive is expected. It offers a good quality/equipment/price ratio.

Audi A6 e-tron. Best Large Car: It is a 100% electric sedan with a length of almost 5 metres. It is available in two body variants: with five doors, called Sportback, and a station wagon, called Avant. There are rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive versions, as well as a particularly sporty S6. The homologated range can exceed 700 km. It stands out for its performance, spacious interior and the quality of its materials and finishes.

Hyundai Santa Fe. Best Large SUV: The fifth-generation Santa Fe is a medium to large SUV that can seat seven. With a very square shape, it features original H-shaped headlamps and lights. Plug-in and non-plug-in petrol-electric hybrid versions are available. It is a spacious vehicle with a wealth of practical features. It is offered with four-wheel drive and has some possibilities for tackling rough terrain and tracks.

Toyota Land Cruiser. Best 4x4: The Land Cruiser 250 Series is a classically styled off-road vehicle, with a robust chassis made of longitudinal beams and cross-members. The body has 5 doors, is 4.92 m long and can seat 7. In some countries it is powered by a powerful turbo diesel engine and will soon be available with a light hybrid system. Toyota has increased the suspension travel and articulation and thus the vehicle's off-road efficiency. The introduction of electric steering assist has enabled the inclusion of safety systems such as lane keeping.

Porsche Panamera. Best Performance and Luxury Car: The Panamera is Porsche's luxury passenger car. It has 5 doors and is offered in two lengths. The standard length is over 5 metres, and the Executive is 5.20 metres. There are petrol-engined and plug-in hybrid versions. Rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive are also available. The minimum power output exceeds 350 hp and the maximum is close to 800 hp. They stand out for their performance, technology and quality of materials and finishes.

BYD. Best Tech Award: The manufacturer has taken a giant leap forward in electric mobility with its Blade battery technology. These LFP (lithium-ferrophosphate) batteries offer higher energy density, greater safety, reduced risk of fire, a longer service life compared to traditional batteries and a longer range. It has also made breakthroughs in plug-in hybrid technology with the DM (Dual Mode) system and its two approaches: DM-i for efficiency and low fuel consumption, and DM-p for high performance.

Volvo. Sandy Myhre Award for the most committed brand for women: Volvo has long demonstrated its commitment to women. It has a large representation of women in the workforce, while in safety it has been using pregnant dummies since 1995. In 2023 it partnered with Girls Who Code, an organisation that works to close the gender gap in technology.

Women's Worldwide Car of the Year is the only car awards group in the world comprised exclusively of women motoring journalists. It was created by New Zealand motoring journalist Sandy Myhre in 2009. She is Honorary President while Marta García is Executive President. 

This unique award aims to recognise the best cars of the year and to give a voice to women in the automotive world. The voting criteria are based on the same principles that guide any driver when choosing a car. The jurors do not select a ‘woman’s car’ because cars are not gender specific. Aspects such as safety, quality, price, design, ease of driving, benefits and environmental footprint, among others, are considered when casting the votes.

However, beyond choosing the best cars of the year, our goal is also to give visibility to women in the automotive world and to contribute to making women’s voices heard on all continents because mobility for a woman means access to many personal and professional possibilities.