In the end, it wasn't really such a surprise that the Toyota Prius won the European Car of the Year 2005 award.
Its hybrid green-and-clean and economical technology was going to be topical for the times we live in, times of escalating oil prices and global warming.
But probably the scale of the 139 point margin over nearest rival, the CitroëC4, was far bigger than anticipated, and the most decisive since the first Ford Focus beat the Opel Astra six years ago with a 172 point majority.
The award has been going since 1964. Voting was by 58 leading automotive journalists from 22 countries, that include Russia and Turkey as well as those in western and central Europe. They had 25 points to distribute among a short list of seven cars that also included the Ford Focus, Opel Astra, Renault Modus, Peugeot 407 and BMW 1-series.
Of the 58 voters or jury members, no fewer than 37 gave their most points to the Prius, with 11 even giving the car a maximum 10 out of 10. Even more remarkable was the strength of the vote for Prius in France and the Nordic area. The three Swedish jurors, along with their two Norwegian and Finnish colleagues gave the 10 out of 10 endorsement, spoiled only by Denmark, whose juror spends most of his time in France. (He gave the maximum 10 points to the C4).
And who said the French were chauvinistic? Their six jurors all plumped for the Prius with votes ranging from 10 to eight points, while the three French cars were largely spurned. Another kind of French Revolution could be taking place!
With all the euphoria about Prius this time, it's maybe worth noting that the first generation model came close enough to winning the 2001 award, getting third place and 229 points, to the Alfa Romeo 147 with 238. (The Ford Mondeo was the runner-up just a point behind with 237).
The new Prius is everything that the old car was not. It is faster, more spacious, better finished and even fun to drive. While the predecessor was frumpy and ugly, it is stylish and even looks like a car of the future.
Toyota, and increasingly other manufacturers, see its hybrid technology as the link between the oil-fuelled transport of today and hopefully a renewable-energy tomorrow.
In the wake of the 2005 result, the most disappointed manufacturers have to be Citroën and Ford. The C4, now going on sale here, shows innovation, especially in the cabin with ideas like the electronic instrument display that reacts to ambient light and so is crystal clear in all conditions.
No one disputed the excellent chassis dynamics of the Focus Mark Two, or the ride comfort and driving refinement that they provided, still definitely best in class. But the points fell away from Focus because it's not keeping up on appearances, being too smooth, too bland and with a forgettable visual identity.
Andrew Hamilton, Irish Times automotive writer, represents Ireland on the European Car of the Year jury. He has been on the jury for 25 years, and is one of its longest serving members.
For the 2005 result he distributed the 25 points in the following way. Toyota Prius: 8, Opel Astra: 7, Ford Focus: 6, Citroën C4: 3 and Peugeot 407: 1. No points were awarded to the Renault Modus or BMW 1-series.