Skip advert
Advertisement

'The Suzuki Jimny is more of a head turner in LA than a Jaguar I-Pace'

Could the Suzuki Jimny be the 2019 World Car of the Year? No. Don’t be daft, says Mike Rutherford

OPINION WCOTY

You had to be there to fully appreciate it. And, thankfully, I was. The event was the fifth World Car Awards test drive programme, staged in its usual venue in Pasadena, Los Angeles County, California.

The mission for us 48 World Car jurors? To find, evaluate and vote for/against the 2019 World Car of the Year (WCOTY), the top prize on the planet for global auto makers, most of whom have never won it.

Advertisement - Article continues below

Best new cars to look out for in 2019

In recent years, only Audi (A6 and A3), BMW (3 Series), Jaguar (F-Pace) Lexus (LS 460), Mazda (2 and MX-5), Mercedes (C-Class) Nissan (Leaf) Volkswagen (Golf, Polo and up!) and Volvo (XC60) have collected the trophy, which is to the global auto business what the World Cup is to football.

Late in November we jurors headed to LA from 18 nations to test drive the dozens of contenders on and around the glorious Angeles Crest Highway. And that’s when the first big surprise kicked in.

True, globally-significant models such as the Jaguar I-Pace and E-Pace were rarely parked up in the garage, so keen were jurors to take them out to evaluate them. But that was wholly expected.

Skip advert
Advertisement
Skip advert
Advertisement - Article continues below

What nobody could have predicted was that two pint-sized Suzuki Jimnys shipped in from Japan were in serious demand, too. And honestly, on LA highways, they turned heads like no other cars at our week-long test fest.

Is the humble Jimny the best all-new car in the world right now? No. Don’t be daft. But of the 37 cars at the disposal of the 48 hard-to-impress jurors, it topped the league in terms of price, curiosity and sheer fun. Astonishingly, it was the Suzuki-starved US jurors who seemed to love the Jimmy most, with several asking the crucial question: why don’t Jeep, GM and Ford build inexpensive (not the same as cheap), cheerful, but still credible small/urban SUVs like this?

Advertisement - Article continues below

The same needs to be asked of Land Rover, too. JLR reps from the US and UK were in Pasadena, watching jurors queuing for the keys to the Jimmy. This offered them and us further proof, as if needed, that a sub-Evoque Land Rover priced about five grand more than the Suzuki at just over £20,000 could be the next big – if small – thing.

Apart from the Jags, other super-strong WCOTY contenders were the BMW X2, Volvo XC40, Genesis G70 and Hyundai Nexo. Significantly, Japanese jurors graciously conceded that cars from Korea have improved beyond belief. But we already knew that, didn’t we?

In the related World Performance Car competition, the Aston Martin Vantage was the star car – and is probably the favourite to go on and collect the crown in early 2019. But if it’s all smiles at Aston, they must be shedding tears at McLaren. How come? Because the 720S the firm planned for us to drive in Pasadena was withdrawn with an embarrassing and ill-timed technical fault. That’s a shame, because this is a truly great, true-Brit supercar.

More importantly, the 720 is a product for the world. But McLaren is well aware of the old adage: you’ve gotta be in it to win it. In Pasadena, the Woking-based manufacturer wasn’t, whereas arch-rival Aston Martin was. Significant, that.

If you'd like to hear more from Mike then check out his previous columns here...

Skip advert
Advertisement
Chief columnist

Mike was one of the founding fathers of Auto Express in 1988. He's been motoring editor on four tabloid newspapers - London Evening News, The Sun, News of the World & Daily Mirror. He was also a weekly columnist on the Daily Telegraph, The Independent and The Sunday Times. 

Skip advert
Advertisement

Recommended

New Suzuki Jimny by Twisted review
Suzuki Jimny by Twisted - front
Road tests

New Suzuki Jimny by Twisted review

The new Suzuki Jimny by Twisted is expensive, but it provides enormous amounts of fun
1 Sep 2023
New Suzuki Jimny Twisted on the way
Twisted Suzuki Swift (silver) - front static
News

New Suzuki Jimny Twisted on the way

Twisted Automotive will create an even more focused off-road version of the Jimny
27 Apr 2023

Most Popular

Huge Audi new car blitz to bring us 9 models in 2 years
Upcoming Audi models - four-way image
News

Huge Audi new car blitz to bring us 9 models in 2 years

After a quiet few years, the German giant is gearing up for its biggest product onslaught to date
25 Mar 2024
Posh new trim level for Dacia Sandero while the Sandero Stepway gets more power
Dacia Sandero - front
News

Posh new trim level for Dacia Sandero while the Sandero Stepway gets more power

Both the Sandero and Sandero Stepway ranges have been tweaked, gaining more safety features to meet the latest regulations
26 Mar 2024
Road tax set to rise in April: here’s how much more you’ll pay
Road tax documentation
News

Road tax set to rise in April: here’s how much more you’ll pay

Drivers with newer cars can expect to be paying roughly £10 more per year, a although the biggest gas guzzlers will fare the worst
26 Mar 2024