In just a few weeks, we’ll see the winners of the 2015 North American Car and Truck of the Year awards announced at the Detroit Auto Show but over in Europe a separate awards event, one just as prestigious, is in the planning. We are, of course, talking about the 2015 European Car of the Year award, which will be presented at the Geneva Motor Show in March.
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An original list of 33 nominees for the European award was presented back in July, and now that list has been whittled down to just seven finalists. Those finalists are listed below:
BMW 2-series Active Tourer
Citroën C4 Cactus
Ford Mondeo
Mercedes-Benz C-Class
Nissan Qashqai
Renault Twingo
Volkswagen Passat (Euro-spec)
While some of the cars on the list are impressive, there are a few questionable choices such as the rather ordinary 2-Series Active Tourer and the Mondeo, which is simply a version of the three-year-old Fusion sold here in the U.S. Last year’s winner was the Peugeot 308, which was lauded for its lightweight construction and diverse range of engines.
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The task of choosing a winner is handled each year by a panel of judges that represent 23 European countries and is made up mostly of journalists and other members of the auto industry. For a car to be eligible, it has to be a new vehicle available now or before year’s end in five or more European markets. The car must also have the prospect of at least 5,000 annual sales, thus ruling out many of the exotic supercars Europe is renowned for.
The winner will be announced at the Geneva Motor Show on March 3. In the meantime, additional coverage of the Swiss show can be accessed via our dedicated hub.
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