Winning the European Car of the Year award six times is no mean feat, and Peugeot has done exactly just that. The ECOTY, which started in 1964, has a panel of almost 60 judges, comprising of motoring journalists and automotive experts from 20 different countries. And still, the compact Peugeot 208 came out on top.
This year's top seven finalists aren't pushovers, mind you. The BMW 1-Series, Toyota Corolla, Ford Puma and Renault Clio make up the bottom half of the seven. The Peugeot 208 gets propped to first by the Porsche Taycan (3rd) and the Tesla Model 3 (2nd).
A noteworthy point, the Top 3 models were all EV's (the Peugeot 208 has an all-electric version called the e-208). Now more than ever, this shows that electric power is well and truly here to stay, following back-to-back EV wins as Jaguar's I-Pace won last year's European COTY.
Up to now, only two other car brands have managed to win the European Car of the Year six times — Fiat and Renault. Peugeot has won the award as early as 1969 with the 504, then the 405 took the trophy nearly two decades later. The 307 returned Peugeot on the podium in the Noughties, followed by the 308 in 2014 and 3008 in 2017.
From the looks of things, it's just a matter of time before Peugeot lifts the trophy for the seventh time.
