The W205 Mercedes-Benz C-Class has been declared the 2015 World Car of the Year - the title win was announced at the ongoing New York International Auto Show. Stuttgart's premium executive sedan was chosen from an initial entry list of 24 vehicles, followed by a short list of twelve and then, three finalists - the other two being the S550 Ford Mustang and Volkswagen Passat B8 (which was named European Car of the Year last month).
Shortlisted finalists included the F45 BMW 2 Series Active Tourer, Mazda 2, Hyundai Genesis and Citroen C4 Cactus (which picked up the 2015 World Car Design of the Year award). The full list of WCOTY vehicles were selected and voted on by an international jury panel comprised of 75 automotive journalists from 22 countries around the world.
On the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, one of the jurors said: "Taking its design and technological cues from the S-Class, the C-Class employs an all-new aluminium/steel hybrid platform and updated rear-drive powertrains that delivers levels of refinement, luxury, safety, ride and handling that challenge best-in-class."
It's the first WCOTY win for Mercedes - previous World Car of the Year winners were the Audi A3 (2014), Volkswagen Golf (2013), Volkswagen Up! (2012), Nissan Leaf (2011), Volkswagen Polo (2010), Volkswagen Golf (2009), Mazda 2 / Mazda Demio (2008), Lexus LS460 (2007), BMW 3-Series (2006) and the Audi A6 (2005).
The automaker also picked up two other 2015 WCOTY titles, the Mercedes-AMG GT bagging the World Performance Car award and the Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupe taking the honours in the World Luxury Car segment, the latter its second title in a row (it won last year with the W222 S-Class). The BMW i8, meanwhile, took the 2015 World Green Car gong.
In Malaysia, the W205 was launched last September, and is currently available in C 200 Avantgarde, C 250 Exclusive and C 250 AMG Line variant forms. Read our review on the C-Class from the international media drive, and watch our video review of the C 200 Avantgarde.
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