The new all-electric Jeep Avenger has been awarded the prestigious Car of the Year for Europe award. Now in its 60th year, the highly respected prize is voted on by a jury of 57 journalists from across Europe this year.
The small all-electric crossover finished ahead of the Volkswagen ID.Buzz and the Nissan Ariya.
In one of the few car awards where each jury member’s votes are published along with explanations for their decisions, each voter has 25 points to distribute across the seven shortlisted cars, with a maximum of 10 points for any one car and no joint-top score.
Revealed at a ceremony at the Brussels Motor show on Friday, the Jeep received 328 votes, compared to 241 for the ID.Buzz, 211 for the Airy, 200 for Kia Niro, 162 for Renault Austral, 149 for Peugeot 408 and 133 for a joint entry of the Subaru Solterra. The Avenger was the favourite of 21 jury members, while 16 opted for the ID.Buzz.
These seven cars are chosen in an earlier vote following various test events, including the week-long test in northern Denmark where the newest cars to come on the market that year are put through their paces both on public roads and a closed airfield.
The final test event took place earlier this week at Belgium's Jules Tacheny race circuit where over two days the final seven cars were tested on track and public roads.
The new Jeep Avenger is due to arrive in Ireland in time for sales from July this year, with prices yet to be confirmed, but likely to start at about €40,000. It shares a platform with the e-2008 and Mokka-e, and claims a one-charge range of around 400km.
