The new Seat Leon has been named AUTOBEST 2021 Best Buy Car of Europe, ahead of the Skoda Octavia and Peugeot 2008.
The 31-member AUTOBEST jury, representing all European nations (including Motoring Research’s own Richard Aucock for the UK), assessed seven finalists for the first time in the organisation’s 19-year history.
Despite challenges from Covid-19, all members were able to vote on all cars with the Seat and Skoda emerging as front-runners.
In the final rankings, the Leon nosed ahead with a winning margin of just 0.69 percent over the Octavia.
The Leon follows the reigning 2020 AUTOBEST Best Buy Car of Europe, the Vauxhall Corsa.
“We had a tough competition between the Seat Leon and Skoda Octavia,” said AUTOBEST jury president Ilia Seliktar.
“Both are great cars, deserving to win. But we can have only one winner, and the AUTOBEST jury voted the Leon our 2021 Best Buy Car of Europe.”
The organisation aims to find the best real-world car for European buyers: models must be affordable, practical and versatile.
Safety, the service network, environmental credentials and cost of ownership are all factored into the voting system.
Other contenders for the 2021 AUTOBEST Best Buy Car of Europe were the Toyota Yaris, Citroen C4, Honda Jazz and Dacia Sandero.
Volkswagen, Honda, Renault are winners
Other awards announced at the end of 2020 include the latest inductee to the MANBEST Hall of Fame for the industry’s top managers and leaders.
Herbert Diess, CEO of Volkswagen Group, is the 2020 victor, for helping transform the giant organisation into a global leader in electric vehicles.
“In time, his achievements may be seen as era-defining,” said the judges: “The era of everyday electric vehicles for all.”
Renault’s clever E-Tech hybrid system took the TECHNOBEST 2020 award, an ingenious development that is genuine racetrack-to-road technology.
“Renault is bringing to market an effective, affordable solution that really delivers in everyday driving.”
The Honda e has taken the ECOBEST 2020 award: with it, the Japanese company has “not only demonstrated it’s ready for a city BEV, but also has the right sense for technical innovation.
“It is charismatic, luxurious and great fun to drive, proving how exciting the future of ECOBEST motoring will be.”
AUTOBEST 2021 Best Buy Car of Europe
1: Seat Leon
2: Skoda Octavia
3: Peugeot 2008
4: Toyota Yaris
5: Citroen C4
6: Honda Jazz
7: Dacia Sandero
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