Toyota Prius Bags Japan Car of The Year 2023/24 Crown

All 10 finalists of the Japan Car of The Year 2023/24 awards.

Spanning 44 years now, the Japan Car of The Year awards entered in latest 2023/24 edition with no less than 10 finalists short-listed. However, it was the latest fifth generation Toyota Prius hybrid that reigned supreme as it snatched the coveted overall crown here.

Organised and run by representatives from 39 of the Japan’s most influential automotive and lifestyle publications, said award’s panel features no less than 60 jurors each year. The first round of voting held in Nov this year brought forth 10 finalists, and all were gathered for jurrors to test-drive recently.

Here’s the full list of finalists and both their ranks and scores from the recently concluded Japan Car of The Year 2023/24:

Toyota Prius development team with the fifth-gen Prius after winning the coveted Japan Car of The Year 2023/24 title and trophy.

The Prius, which is now available in both enclosed hybrid (HEV) and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) variants, reportedly took the overall crown after garnering a total of 360 points from the judges. Notably, that’s more than double what the second-placed car, the third-gen (U11) BMW X1, scored.

According to Prius chief engineer Satoki Oya, the model’s reinvention was a case of extremes borne out of former Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda’s recommendation to transform the Prius fully. As a result, the pioneering hybrid saw this latest-gen iteration debut with radically better styling and enhanced performance to match.

Third-gen (U11) BMW X1 sDrive20i xLine CKD pictured. The German luxury compact crossover stood as both runner up and Import Car of The Year trophy winner.

Placing third overall was the Japan-market Honda ZR-V crossover.

Despite losing out to the Prius by significant margin, the runner up Bimmer compact crossover still took home the Import Car of The Year 2023/24 trophy – one of several special awards awarded in this year’s edition.

Another notable finalist here is the Japan-market Honda ZR-V crossover that placed third after scoring 100 Points. Besides the Prius, Toyota’s latest-gen Alphard/Vellfire luxury MPVs duo ranked fourth overall with 90 points from judges.

Other finalists include MPVs like the new Nissan Serena (left) and the latest-gen Toyota Alphard/Vellfire. The former even garnered the award's Technology Car of The Year 2023/24 trophy.

Another finalist was the Mitsubishi Delica Mini kei-class MPV, and it took the Design Car of The Year trophy too.

Trailing behind which in fifth was the latest-gen Nissan Serena MPV that scored 60 points. Said new Nissan family-mover was also named Japan Technology Car of The year 2023/24. Thanks to its new 1.4-litre 3-cyl hybrid powertrain and ProPilot 2.0 active driving assist (ADAS) suite granting hands-off highway driving.

Another notable finalist and trophy winner is the latest Mitsubishi Delica Mini kei-class van model. Ranked sixth overall, the kei-class mini MPV was awarded the title of Design Car of The Year 2023/24 as well. All these special trophies were handed out by the Japan Car of the Year Executive Committee.