European Car of the Year finalists announced
 

Filed under: Europe, Ford, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, Subaru, Toyota, Volkswagen, Volvo, Renault, Peugeot

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog....y-logo-opt.jpg

Electric cars may have won the European Car of the Year award two years in a row now (Opel Ampera in 2012, and Nissan Leaf in 2011), we can say without reservation that the 2013 ECotY will be a petrol-burning, internal combustionizer. That's because not a single electric vehicle made it to the contest's final round. But eight other cars did.

At the top of the alphabetical list is Ford's Fiesta-based, B-Max MPV. Five doors, good ride and fuel-efficient, award-winning engine choices are some of the reasons it makes the list. Next is the Hyundai i30, known as the Elantra GT Stateside, with either five or three doors, a roomy cabin and a 1.6-liter CRDi engine. The nominating committee commends the handsome hatch for improved exterior aesthetics and a multilink suspension that "shows in ride and handling."

Mercedes gets the next spot with its hot hatch: the turbocharged A-Class, followed by another hatch, the Peugeot 208. The next finalist is from another marque we haven't seen in the States for quite some time - the fourth-generation Renault Clio, followed by the Subaru/Toyota dynamic duo of BRZ and the GT86. The last two contenders are the all-new Volkswagen Golf and the svelte Volvo V40.

The European Car of the Year will be announced in early March after the jury has tallied its votes.European Car of the Year finalists announced originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 20 Dec 2012 10:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.



Permalink | Email this | Comments

More...
Autoblog
12-20-2012 11:01 AM

and now I can't wait to hear what Top Gear's car of the year pick will be :D