THE Land Rover Defender has been named as the best designed car in the world in the 2021 World Car Awards - but the title of World Car of the Year went to Volkswagen's electrically powered SUV, the ID.4, which has just gone on sale in the UK.

It's the third time Land Rover has claimed the World Car Design of the Year award following previous wins for the Range Rover Velar and Evoque in 2018 and 2012 respectively and is the latest in a number of global awards for the rugged 4x4.

It's also the sixth World Car Design of the Year win for parent company Jaguar Land Rover - the most for any manufacturer in the awards' 17-year history. As well as the Land Rover models, the Jaguar I-PACE, F-PACE and F-Type have all won the coveted title.

But Volkswagen are not far behind and take the crown in terms of overall World Car of the Year successes. This year's win for the ID.4 is Volkswagen's fifth title, with the VW UP! and Polo having secured the title in previous years along with the Golf, which was named as World Car of the Year twice - in 2009 and 2013.

An initial list of 24 contenders for the overall title was whittled down to a shortlist of three and the ID.4 came out on top ahead of the Honda e and the Toyota Yaris.

Other category winners were the electrically powered Honda e (World Urban Car), the Porsche 911 Turbo (World Performance Car) and the Mercedes-Benz S-Class which was named as World Luxury Car.

The awards are decided on votes cast by a panel of 93 motoring journalists from 28 countries which includes seven members from the UK.

Commenting on the Defender's success, Jaguar Land Rover design and creative chief Professor Gerry McGovern says: "New Defender is influenced by its past but is not constrained by it and we are delighted it has been honoured with this award. Our vision was to create a 21st century Defender by pushing the boundaries of engineering, technology and design while retaining its renowned DNA and off-road capability."