The combined jury of European journalists have nominated their candidates for Car of the Year, and it looks to be a tight battle this year.
After all 58 jury members cast their first votes, the list of seven nominees comes down to the Alfa Romeo Giulia, Citroën C3, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Nissan Micra, Peugeot 3008, Toyota C-HR, and Volvo S90/V90.
As we might have expected, the bulk of the candidates (five out of seven) are European. The other two are Japanese, but not a single American (nor Korean) model made the short-list. Not a single EV or dedicated hybrid model was nominated this year, either.
Also, none of the top previous recipients has had a model nominated this year. Fiat remains the most decorated in the award’s history with nine wins (most recently for the 500 in 2008), followed by Renault (six wins) and Ford and Opel (five each).
PSA is the only group with multiple nominees on the list this year. Its Peugeot brand has won the award four times, and Citroën another three.
The award is bestowed by a combined jury representing seven publications, each from a different European country. Each of those 58 jurists will be given 25 points to divide between at least five of the candidates, with the winner to be announced on March 6, 2017, at the Geneva Motor Show.
Last year’s award went to the Opel Astra, which beat the Volvo XC90. The Volkswagen Passat won in 2015, the Peugeot 308 in 2014 and the Volkswagen Golf in 2013.
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