Mercedes-Benz S-class wins Women's Car of the Year award

The winning cars for Women's World Car of the Year 2014 have been announced after women motoring writers from 15 countries voted for their favourite cars. These judges voted on 10 different criteria, which included elements such as design and function, style and appeal, comfort, storage and drive quality.

The Auckland, New Zealand office of international accountancy firm Grant Thornton received, collated and analysed the secret ballot. Four of the categories produced the closest voting seen in the five-year history of Women's World Car of the Year.

Paul McCormick, the Partner in charge of the process, said it was very interesting this year to see a common trend develop as votes were received. “This year, with more cars and more judges, the trend towards higher scores in the luxury and green car categories was evident very early in the voting. It was no surprise that the top three cars were in these categories in the final standings."

The Mercedes-Benz S-class was declared the 2014 Women's World Car of the Year, beating the Audi A8 by a tenth of a point. The Audi A3 sedan won the Family Car category, while the Audi S3 won the Sports Car category. The SUV category award was bagged by the Range Rover Sport, and the Honda Jazz (also known as the Honda Fit) won the Budget Car category. Tesla Model S was voted as the Green Car of the Year.

Another informal category, where the judges were asked to vote for their Dream Car - one that they would like to own themselves - was won by the Jaguar F-type coupé.