Every October, since 2009, a panel of female automotive journalists from around the world have joined together to determine the Car of the Year, as seen by women.

Occupying the first position of this list, this year, is the 1.0-litre Ford Fiesta EcoBoost. The Fiesta heads the economy car category, and in the second round of voting, walked away with the title of best choice in all categories, ahead of the Mazda CX-5 and the Range Rover. The Mazda CX-5 won the SUV category, just ahead of the Hyundai Santa Fe. In another category, where women could vote strictly for the car they find most appealing, the Aston Martin Vanquish was the most desirable.

It is difficult to separate winners by model year, since global offerings differ in each market. The Chief Judge, Sandy Myhre of New Zealand, said that judges each submitted a list of all models that they tested throughout the year. From these lists, a common list of finalists was provided to the judges, who then determined the best choice in each category, plus an overall winner.

In the family car category, the Audi Allroad beat out the Volkswagen Golf and BMW 3 Series. Sports car of the year went to the Porsche Boxster S, edging out another beautiful sports car, the Audi RS5 as well as the Toyota 86 / Subaru BRZ duo. The luxury car of the year, is in fact, an SUV. Curiously, Range Rover dominated the segment, over Mercedes-Benz SL550 and the BMW 6 Series. The title for Utility of the Year is owned by the Mazda CX-5, just ahead of the Hyundai Santa Fe and the Nissan Pathfinder. Finally, the economy car category was led by the 1.0-litre Ford Fiesta EcoBoost, followed by the Kia Forte and the aging Toyota Prius.

In total, there were 21 judges, including several Chinese, as well as two from Canada: Regina Chan and her 20 years of experience at various Canadian media outlets and Jill McIntosh, who wrote for the Toronto Star, among others.

By Linda Aylesworth - autoExpert.ca