2019 Women’s World Car of the Year is new Mazda 3

KUALA LUMPUR: The 2019 Women’s World Car of the Year is the new Mazda 3, by beating well-known cars like Volvo S60, G20 BMW 3 Series, Audi e-Tron Quattro, and Tesla Model 3. Along with this, the fourth-gen Mazda 3 has also been awarded as the Family Car of the Year at the COTY awards. The later one was held in Dubai along with the Dubai International Motor Show.

The Women’s World Car of the Year was set up in 2010 along with a female judge panel from over 30 different countries. They are asked to vote based on what criteria are generally preferred by the women while buying a car. These include value-for-money, safety, aesthetic appearance, ease-of-driving, child-friendliness, storage space, color, a vehicle’s environmental footprint, and sex appeal.

Coming to the other awards, the Kia XCeed has got the Urban Car award, and the Kia Soul EV has taken away the Green Car of the Year. The Luxury Car title has gone to the BMW 8 Series, while the Porsche 911 claims the Performance Car award. It is the Range Rover Evoque that has been awarded as the SUV/Crossover of the Year.

The stock Mazda 3 arrived in Malaysia in July. It comes with two body styles as sedan and hatchback and is available in three variants - 1.5, 2.0 High, and 2.0 High Plus.

In Malaysia, there are two SkyActiv-G naturally-aspirated four-cylinder petrol engines. The first being the 1.5-litre unit, which can make a maximum power of 118 hp coming at 6,000 rpm, and the peak torque is 153 Nm at 4,000 rpm. The other one is a 2.0-litre powerplant that can provide a maximum power of 162 hp at 6,000 rpm, and the peak torque is 213 Nm at 4,000 rpm. The power is sent to the front wheels via a SkyActiv-Drive six-speed automatic transmission.

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