before the votes were counted, the Subaru Forester and Honda Prelude were favourites to win the prestigious Japan Car of the Year award (JCOTY) this year. In a tightly fought battle, it was the Forester which had the edge, while the Volkswagen ID. Buzz was the Japan Import Car of the Year.
60 judges made their choices for the 46th JCOTY, with some 41 representatives from the country’s most influential automotive and lifestyle publications, who run the JCOTY organisation, and dozens of car industry executives gathered to witness the vote-counting and prize-giving ceremony in Centre Kita, Yokohama City.
In a major change to previous voting methods, the JCOTY organization decided to employ a new ‘Formula 1 style’ voting system for 2025-26 in which judges had to allocate their votes across all the top 10 finalists. In the same way as F1 race winners receive 25 points, each juror was required to give their best car 25 votes; their second best 18 votes; their third best 15 votes; fourth 12, fifth 10; sixth 8; seventh 6; eighth 4; ninth 2; and tenth 1 vote.
The VW ID. Buzz, which finished in fifth place and ranked the highest among imported vehicles, picked up the Import Car of the Year award as well as the Best Design award.
In early polling, the Forester jumped to an early lead with the Prelude holding a close second. When all votes were counted, the Forester had received 1,149 votes, while the Prelude has 1076 votes. In third place with 654 voted was the Toyota Crown Stationwagon.
“The Subaru Forester was highly regarded as an SUV that combines driving performance, practicality, comfort, off-road performance, and safety that Subaru has consistently emphasized. With the adoption of the long-awaited Strong Hybrid (S:HEV), the horizontally opposed engine, which is a unique technology, has evolved into a ‘Subaru-like environmental engine’ that achieves both fuel efficiency and driving pleasure. In addition, the evolution of safety equipment, such as advanced driver assistance technologies such as EyeSight X and airbags that contribute to reducing injuries not only to pedestrians but also to cyclists, has also received high praise,” the JCOTY judging panel explained in a statement.
After receiving the JCOTY trophy, the Forester’s chief engineer Katsuro Tadaki commented: “In addition to creating the highly lauded new strong hybrid powertrain, we finely tuned the car’s safety systems, packaging, handling, comfort levels, ride quality and cost performance to make the Forester the best in class.”
Porsche Japan – in the midst of celebrating its 30th anniversary in the country – received the Technology Award of the Year for the powerful new T-Hybrid powertrain in the 911 Carrera GTS. The Porsche Experience Centre also received a special for its ‘coexistence with the local community’ as well as its efforts to revitalize the Kisarazu region of Chiba.
A second special award was given to the Super Endurance Organization for its work in prototype vehicles working towards the realization of a carbon-neutral society, in addition to its efforts to open a new stage of international exchange. This included a demo run of NASCAR (a symbol of American motorsports) in Japan, and promoting cultural exchange between Japan and the USA through motorsport.
