The new Jaguar F-Pace, the automaker’s first ever SUV, has been adjudged the Women’s World Car of the Year 2016, supplanting last year’s winner, the second-gen Volvo XC90. The F-Pace was also adjudged the winner in the SUV/crossover category.
Speaking on behalf of the automaker, Fiona Pargeter, head of Global PR Communications at Jaguar Land Rover, said, "We are delighted that the F-PACE has been voted not only the best SUV/crossover, but also supreme winner in the 2016 Women’s Car of the Year awards.”
The F-Pace was part of a vast list of 294 cars initially submitted by a panel of 17 judges – including Autocar India's Renuka Kripalani – to be considered for the awards. This list was then brought down to 32 cars across six categories before adjudging the final winner of each category and the Women’s World Car of the Year from these category winners.
In the other categories, Honda walked away with two awards with the Jazz and the Civic winning the Budget Car and Family Car awards, respectively. Ford took home the award for Performance Cars, with its iconic muscle car, the Mustang, with the Ford Focus RS hot hatch coming in a close second by one vote. The Volvo S90 beat out the competition to be crowned the winner in the Luxury Car category, while for the Green Car award, it was Toyota that took home the prize with the new Prius.
This year saw the introduction of a new award – the Holly Reich Dream Car award – dedicated to the memory of Holly Reich, one of the original judges for the Women’s World Car of the Year since its inception seven years ago – who passed away this October. This is reportedly a free category with each judge nominating a car they would like to own. Winning the award at its inauguration was the McLaren 570S.