Car of the Year Finalists announced

Land Rover Discovery 4 - Didn't make the COTY final lineup

The final line-up of seven for the European Car of the Year Award (COTY) has been announced.

It’s that time of the year again, when the final line-up for the European Car of the Year Awards are announced. And there seems to be something of a theme. The finalists are :

Fine cars one and all. But, with the exception of the Mercedes, there’s nothing much more than an eco box of one size or another. The 3008 and the Picasso are about as small as you can get and still be considered an MPV. The Astra’s not the smallest in the Vauxhall range, but it’s far from a big car. The Yeti’s at the distinctly ‘Economy’ end of small 4x4s and the other offering from the VW stable is the Polo. As for the iQ, fine car though it is it’s probably one of the most expensive of the crop of micro-sized cars.

I suppose with the world in ‘Must-Save’ mood it’s no real surprise that all the nominees for the COTY are small and frugal – except the E-Class. But surely there was room for one or two more impressive cars from the original nominees list, which was: