2020 World Car Awards Odds – Car of the Year, Design of the Year, and More

• The 2020 World Car Awards will be announced on April 8th, 2020 at 10:30 am EST
• The Porsche Taycan has earned the most nominations with three overall
• There are three finalists for each award and it looks like there is good value on the board in at least a couple of the categories

The countdown is on for the 2020 World Car Awards as they’re right around the corner. The announcements were supposed to be made at the 2020 New York International Auto Show but they’ll likely be done in different fashion given the COVID-19 outbreak.

Books have posted odds on all five of the categories on the board, so let’s take a look and see which cars will win in each category.

2020 World Car Award Odds

Odds as of Mar. 26.

World Car Design of the Year

There are three very different finalists in this category as we have Porsche’s incredible all-electric Taycan, a Mazda 3 and the Peugeot 208. The Taycan should probably earn the award but won’t because it’s also nominated in three other categories. Also, this particular award is usually voted on by artsy designers, so Porsche’s incredible engineering might not be factored.

That being the case, I’d lean to the Mazda3 here. They’ve done an incredible job reinventing this car in recent years. Now it’s a very sexy, sleek design. I’d rather be seen in the Taycan any day of the week over this but I think the Mazda3 wins this particular award.

World Luxury Car

The three finalists in this category are the Mercedes-Benz EQC, the Porsche 911 and the Porsche Taycan. This is arguably the toughest category as all three are marvelous vehicles. The reason why Mercedes is favored here is because Porsches are typically more known for performance or sport than overall luxury.

That’s not to say that they’re not luxurious cars; they are. However, I think the edge here goes to Mercedes because it’s more associated with luxury than the Porsches. It’s a small difference but that will be enough to earn it the win.

World Performance Car

Here’s a tip: a Porsche should win in this category. If you can’t sense the cheekiness, it’s because Porsche has all three finalists in this category. We’re looking at the 911, Taycan and Spyder/Cayman GT4.

I’m expecting the Taycan to win this award as it’s a modern marvel. The electric car goes from 0-60 (miles per hour) in 2.4 seconds, which is absolutely incredible. The build quality, design and overall performance should push it ahead of the other Porsches in this category.

World Urban Car

We’re looking at a couple of electric cars in this category (Kia Soul EV and Mini EV) and one traditional (Volkswagen T-Cross) but given the category, I’d expect electrics to have the edge. Of the two, I would bet on the Kia Soul EV. It’s a more practical car than the Mini, so those two factors should lead it to a win.

World Car of the Year

For the overall Car of the Year, we’re looking at three really practical cars in the Mazda3, the Mazda CX-30 and the Kia Telluride. I’m personally a big fan of the Telluride as it really feels like it elevates Kia to another level. However, there are car critics who disagree with me.

To me, this one is a really even race but the odds don’t reflect that. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Telluride won but the safer option is the CX-30. It has more cargo room than the Mazda3 and being an SUV should give it an edge as consumers love those these days.