Car of the Year 2024 Election in Switzerland: decision day

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As every year, the 13-member expert jury meets at the TCS Betzholz Driving Safety Center in Hinwil ZH at the beginning of October to select the Swiss Car of the Year after intensive test drives.

This year, the jury members will face off against ten cars they have pre-selected (see box) in the first step, out of 38 cars available to choose from; all of which can be ordered in 2023 or, at the latest, in 2024, with the new models presented and launched in Switzerland in March.

“The choice seems a little easier to me this year than it was before,” says jury president Monisha Kaltenborn (52) happily when she sees the ten beautifully lined up final candidates on this wonderful autumn morning. “The vehicles evaluated do not differ much in terms of driving concept. Eight out of ten models are fully electric cars. “Only the BMW i5 stands out from the rest in terms of performance and price,” says the former Sauber F1 team boss.

Eight out of ten cars are electric

Fellow jury member, former F1 driver and TV commentator Marc Surer (72) is surprised: “Along with the Fiat 600e, Jeep Avenger and Opel Astra Electric, we have three vehicles here from the Stellantis Group and they are all built on the same technology platform. But these three cars are driving Speaking of driving dynamics: Racing pro Fredy Barth (44) says with a wink: “There’s only one really sporty candidate here. But given the selection criteria, that probably makes sense.” Absolutely, because the selection criteria for the Swiss Car of the Year are style, technology, innovation and price-performance ratio.

Although the “old hands” in the expert jury seem to have made the selection a little easier this year, first-time voter Isabelle Riederer is also having a harder time: “With such a diverse range of participants, it’s a big challenge to make the right decision,” says the automotive journalist on the test course with all models After completing. Returning to the jury, Benjamin Albertalli, director of ACS Ticino, was impressed by the rapid development in the automotive industry: “When I was last selected five years ago, all the candidates had internal combustion engines. “Today, eight out of ten championship candidates are fully electric, while the remaining two are hybrid cars.”

From small cars to giants

Although the difference is not actually as big as in other years, it still does not seem easy to combine a giant like the electric Kia EV9, which costs around 76,000 francs, has a length of over five meters and a width of almost 2.30 meters, with the electric Kia EV9. The hybrid 4.55 meters short and 1.78 meters narrow Dacia Jogger costs 26,790 francs – although both come in seventh place. Or although the Fiat 600e and the BMW i5 both have electric drives, the top version of the i5 M60 with 601 hp (442 kW) offered in Betzholz and priced at just under 124,000 francs is completely different from the one priced at just 124,000 francs is in a league. Fiat with 156 hp (115 kW) for under 40,000 francs.

But after extensive test drives, the judges must remain silent to give the final scores. Regulations require everyone to contribute 25 points, distributed among at least seven vehicles, but no more than 10 points for one vehicle. Additionally, the first and second place cannot be given the same score.

Title announced on November 27

Empa expert Mathias Huber uses the process of elimination: “I know which cars did not get points from me.” But while electric cars can be compared based on facts like range, charging speed and price, it’s harder when it comes to emotional factors like driving pleasure, grumbles one judge as he hands down his scores.

Even though all 13 jury members had completed their ballots on the evening of the test day and the winner of the election had already been determined in principle, one can still only speculate about the Swiss car of 2024. Because the election results will remain secret until the grand gala and awards ceremony to be held on Monday, November 27, 2023. Only then will it be clear which “Swiss Car of the Year 2024” will replace last year’s winner, the Genesis GV60.

Source: Blick