The 2011 World Car Of The Year awards were announced today, and the big winner is the Nissan Leaf. At a press conference at the New York Auto Show, the Nissan Leaf was announced as the 2011 COTY winner, out of an initial list of thirty-nine (39) new vehicles. The finalists for the 2011 COTY are the new Audi A8, the 2011 BMW 5 Series and the Nissan's Leaf. Usually, the COTY award is won by small, economic class vehicles, so, out of those three, the winner is obvious.
The Nissan Leaf is a small, four-door hatchback, powered by an electric motor, that develops 80 kW and 280 Nm of torque. With a top speed of 90 mph (140 km/h), and a range of 100 miles / 160 km, the Nissan Leak is actually quite useful in urban areas. It requires 8 hours to recharge using 220-240V power supply.
Previous winners of the World Car Of The Year award include the Volkswagen Polo in 2010, Volkswagen Golf in 2009, the Mazda2 / Mazda Demio in 2008.
