Women's World Car of the Year 2013

The Ford Fiesta 1.0 EcoBoost is the winner of the Women's World Car of the Year 2013 award, writes Trish Whelan.

The Fiesta won the economy car category in the finalist voting round, and in the second voting round consisting of finalists only, edged out the Mazda CX5 and the Range Rover.

The official results in each category are:

Family car: 1 Audi Allroad; 2. VW Golf; 3. BMW 3 Series.

Luxury Car: 1. Range Rover; 2. Mercedes Benz SL550; 3. BMW 6 Series;

Sports Car: 1. Porsche Boxster S; 2. Audi RS5; 3. Toyota 86/Subaru BRZ.

SUV: 1. Mazda CX5; 2. Hyundai Santa Fe; 3. Nissan Pathfinder.

Economy Car: 1. Ford Fiesta 1.0 EcoBoost; 2. Kia Forte; 3. Toyota Prius.

The presentation of trophies and certificates will take place in London at the beginning of of October. Geraldine Herbert is the Irish judge.

World Tour Fiestas complete Irish leg

Two Fiesta models have completed the Irish leg of their world tour that will see the Ford supermini cover four continents and more than 15,000 road miles finishing up at the Sydney Motor Show in late October.

After crossing the US to New York, they began the Irish leg in Shannon last weekend. While here they paid a visit to Lisdoonvarna to meet local matchmaker Willie Daley who claims to have 'matchmade' 10,000 couples.

They then travelled to overnight in Dublin before sailing across the Irish Sea to Britain and eventually on to mainland Europe via the Channel Tunnel. From there, the tour will continue across China, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, then across the Australian continent to finish up in Sydney.

The worldwide expedition marks the launch of the Ford Fiesta in the US and celebrates the millionth Fiesta sale this month. The car is sold in every major market across the world.