The final round of the Car of the Year Japan award took place at the Sodegaura Forest Raceway near Tokyo. Despite not being particularly sporty, the jury praised the hatchback for good track handling, affordable pricing and eco-friendly powertrain.
The closely related Subaru BRZ and Toyota GR86 won silver, followed by the Honda HR-V, Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Mirai, Chevrolet Corvette, Mercedes-Benz C, Toyota Land Cruiser 300, and BMW 4.
The other participants won consolation prizes. The VW Golf won Best Foreign Car, the Corvette was considered the Best Sports Car, and the Honda N-One brought home the Best Kei Car award. The BMW 4-Series earned an honorary mention for innovative design, while the Outlander PHEV was found particularly advanced technologically.
This is the fifth time Nissan has won since 1980. Honda and Toyota are the most frequent winners with 11 and 9 awards, respectively.
The third-gen Nissan Note hatchback debuted last year as a hybrid-only car driven by one or two electric motors receiving power from a 1.2-liter turbo range extender. The two-motor REX hybrid has four driven wheels.