Hyundai Santa Fe is Women’s Worldwide Car of the Year 2025
The Hyundai Santa Fe seven-seater SUV is the supreme winner selected by a panel of 82 women motoring journalists from 55 countries, which include Philippines (represented by Ms Gen Tiu), Vietnam (represented by Ms Hoa Huyen), Japan and China.
The result was announced in the same week as International Women’s Day (8 March), making the Women’s Worldwide Car of the Year (WWCOTY) awards even more meaningful. Driving this worthy endeavour is the desire to give women greater visibility in the automotive arena and amplify their voices in all places where mobility for a woman means better access to personal and professional possibilities.
The female motoring journos, every one of whom is qualified for the task in her own way, cast their votes and chose their favourites after testing 81 contenders for the 2025 edition of WWCOTY.
The judging criteria include safety, quality, price, design, easy driveability, environmental footprint and user benefits. Also taken into account are each market’s particularities, type of driving, purchasing power and consumer preferences. The relevant female perspectives are crucial in this case, but the scores are not gender-specific.
The six cars which won their respective categories were in the running for the biggest accolade in the contest. They are the Hyundai Santa Fe (“Large SUV”), Kia EV3 (“Compact SUV”), Toyota Land Cruiser (“4x4”), Audi A6 e-tron (“Large Car”), Porsche Panamera (“Performance Car”) and the MINI Cooper (“Urban Car”).
Hyundai Santa Fe, the final overall winner, garnered plenty of praise from the 82-women judging panel.
Their positive remarks include “a futuristic and very distinctive design”, “comfort on board at the level of premium cars”, “easy to drive despite the large size”, “excellent fuel economy”, “bold and boxy styling that’s unique yet practical”, “good use of interior space”, “packed with cutting-edge technology and premium materials”, and “a competitive price with a good quality-equipment ratio”.
This is Hyundai Motor Group’s second WWCOTY victory in a row, with the Kia EV9 being last year’s supreme winner.
The Hyundai Santa Fe drove home with the WWCOTY 2025 award.
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