For the first time since 2012, the new 2021-2022 Japan Car of the Year is a Nissan model. Specifically, the said accolade was given to the Nissan Note and its more premium Note Aura brother.
The Nissan Note is the Japan Car of the Year for 2021-2022
Of note (pun intended), the Japan Car of the Year (JCOTY) is a prestigious award established way back in 1980. It is given to new models that were released in a span of two calendar years. Selection of the winners is done by a supervisory board made up of Japanese automotive journos.
The cars themselves are put through several rounds, the nominees of which were already selected back in November. Each model was then ranked by a scoring system by the said board of judges.
The Nissan Note itself was released in December 2020, and according to numerous sources, it garnered praise for its e-POWER electronic powertrain, its innovative interior and exterior design, as well as its excellent ability to limit Noise, Vibration and Harshness (NVH) levels. In total, the Note managed to garner 335 points.
In the second place spot for JCOTY is the Toyota GR 86/Subaru BRZ platform siblings
For the said award, the Nissan Note/Note Aura beat out the likes of the Toyota GR86/Subaru BRZ, which in turn won second place at 264 points. In the third position was the Honda Vezel/HR-V with 227 points, followed by the Mitsubishi Outlander with 206 points.
Interestingly enough, in fifth place for the JCOTY 2021-2022 is the German-made Volkswagen Golf which managed to get 168 points. The said car also won the Import Car of the Year 2021-2022 category.
Other models that made it into the top-ten JCOTY spots are the Toyota Mirai, the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, and the Toyota Land Cruiser.
Other category winners for the JCOTY 2021-2022 are the Mitsubishi Outlander for the Technology Car of the Year, the Chevrolet Corvette for the Performance Car of the Year, the Honda N-One for the “K-car” of the Year, and the BMW 4 Series for the Design Car of the Year. These cars except the N-One also made it into the JCOTY top ten models for 2021-2022.
In third place in the 2021-2022 JCOTY is the new Honda Vezel/HR-V
This is the fifth time Nissan has won the said award. Previously, the Nissan LEAF clinched the 2011-2012 JCOTY.
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