This year’s Overall Car of the Year award went to the Honda Civic e:HEV RS, a hybrid mid-size passenger car with a driveline that is one of the most modern in the world and in the realms of popular affordability.

It exploits the electric motor’s ability to spin up to 30,000rpm with instant strong torque thereby replacing the gearbox that combustion cars need to move anywhere at a decent pace.

A point to note in the voting of the e:HEV Civic is that the judges recognise that while battery electric cars are the flavour of the day, they also recognise that a hybrid is a practical step in the transition towards zero emission cars.

Read more from FMT.