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The Mazda2 has capped a year of multiple honours worldwide with a win in the World Car of the Year awards, announced at the New York International Motor Show.
The compact hatchback was chosen from a list of 39 contenders nominated by the 47 World Car jurors who come from 24 countries worldwide.
The two-stage voting process began with individual jurors evaluating and rating the candidates using a variety of standardised parameters - everything from styling and quality, to performance and safety.
The jurors then voted in January to establish a top-10 shortlist. The World Car of the Year was chosen from those finalists in a second round of voting, with international accounting company KPMG monitoring the process.
Ford's Mondeo and the Mercedes-Benz C-Class shared top-three billing with the Mazda2.
Current holder of the New Zealand Car of the Year title, the Mazda2 has also received top honours in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Greece and Japan.
The awards were inaugurated in 2003 and launched in January 2004.
They are administered by a non-profit association under the guidance of a steering committee of car journalists from Asia, Europe, and North America.
