Finalists for the 2017 European Car of the Year awards have been revealed, with the panel of 58 experts having narrowed the field to just 7 cars. Admittedly, there are some obvious inclusions in this list, highlighting the strong performers that will be on sale next year.
Whichever car is chosen, it will be passed the baton from the 2016 winner, the Opel (Holden!) Astra, which prior that the ECotY title belonged to the Volkswagen Passat (B8). Models from both of those marques, though, have not made the list of final contenders this year.
The Alfa Romeo Giulia, Nissan Micra (also known as the Nissan March), and Toyota C-HR both made strong entrances with an impressive ensemble of features and innovative touches that should satisfy the European audience, with the rest of the nominees being the Peugeot 3008, Volvo S90, Citroen C3, and Mercedes-Benz E-Class (W213).
Of the marques that have been selected, only Volvo has yet to have won the title in the years prior with the XC90 coming close last year but walked away as the runner up. And their newest flagship is arguably their best shot so far at nabbing the coveted award, having garnered very positive reviews globally and posing a serious threat to the German premium saloon oligopoly.
The winner will be announced at next year’s Geneva Motor Show in March.
