The seven-car shortlist for the European Car of the Year 2014 award has been announced.
Finalists include four regular cars – Citroen C4 Picasso, Mazda3, Peugeot 308 and Skoda Octavia, one extra-luxury vehicle – the Mercedes S-class, and two all electric cars – the BMW i3 and the Tesla Model S.
Each of the seven manufacturers (chosen from a long list of 30 eligible vehicles) will now be able to use “Finalist Car of the Year 2014” in their literature.
The cars will be exhaustively tested by each of the 58 judges from 22 European countries.
The winner will be announced on the eve of the Geneva Motor Show on March 3 2014.
Last year’s winner was the new Volkswagen Golf, which came out on top before its seven competitors, garnering a total score of 414 in the final vote. Opel Ampera / Chevrolet Volt was named European Car of the Year 2012, while the 2011 edition was won by the all-electric Nissan Leaf.