The European Car of the Year organisation has announced the seven finalists for the 2021 award.
In alphabetical order, the finalists are:
- Citroen C4
- Cupra Formentor
- Fiat 500
- Land Rover Defender
- Skoda Octavia
- Toyota Yaris
- Volkswagen ID.3
The 60-strong jury will now conduct a second round of voting to determine the winner.
The 2021 European Car of the Year is due to be announced on 1 March 2021.
The victor will succeed the 2020 Car of the Year, the Peugeot 208 (pictured above). Peugeot is not in the running for a repeat triumph in 2021, despite the 2008 SUV appearing on the longlist.
2021 Car of the Year contenders
A total of 29 cars were originally in the running for the 2021 gong. All models are required to be on sale either now or before the year’s end in at least five European countries.
In the running were no fewer than four Mercedes-Benz models, the all-electric Polestar 2, two Ford SUVs and a significant head-to-head – the Volkswagen Golf vs the all-electric ID.3.
Here in full is the 2021 Car of the Year longlist:
1. Audi A3
2. BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe
3. BMW 4 Series
4. Citroen C4
5. Cupra Formentor
6. Dacia Sandero
7. Fiat 500
8. Ford Explorer
9. Ford Kuga
10. Honda e
11. Honda Jazz
12. Hyundai i10
13. Hyundai i20
14. Hyundai Tucson
15. Kia Sorento
16. Land Rover Defender
17. Mazda MX-30
18. Mercedes-Benz GLA
19. Mercedes-Benz GLB
20. Mercedes-Benz GLS
21. Mercedes-Benz S-Class
22. Peugeot 2008
23. Polestar 2
24. Seat Leon
25. Skoda Octavia
26. Toyota Mirai
27. Toyota Yaris
28. Volkswagen Golf
29. Volkswagen ID.3
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