Currently reading: Car of the Year finalists announced ahead of Geneva motor show

Seven cars, including the BMW 2-series Active Tourer and Citroën C4 Cactus, are in the running to win the Car of the Year title for 2015

The shortlist for the 2015 Car of the Year Award has been revealed, with the overall winner set to be announced at the Geneva motor show in March.

This year's shortlist includes the BMW 2-series Active Tourer, Citroën C4 Cactus, Ford Mondeo, Mercedes-Benz C-class, Nissan Qashqai, Renault Twingo and Volkswagen Passat.

The seven-strong list has been produced following the announcement of 31 nominees. The process has so far eliminated models including Audi's new TT, the Smart Fortwo and Porsche Macan from the competition. 

A jury of 58 members from 22 European countries will now vote on which car to crown as Car of the Year. For 2015, the judging panel includes Autocar's Matt Prior. This year, judges awarded the Peugeot 308 the top title.

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Alexanda 16 December 2014

The top innovator

All the cars on this list have been done 100 times before apart from the Twingo. Admittedly typically COTY goes to a car that has a 50/50 chance of becoming a future failure. I like the idea of the Twingo and seeing the huge popularity that the 500 has had across whole of Europe recently, hopefully it can be a saviour for Renault like the 500 has for Fiat.
jonboy4969 15 December 2014

Citroen did a rather long and

Citroen did a rather long and exhaustive survey to findout whether the rear windows are really needed to be electric or not, as a lot of cars are sold that never have rear passengers/infrequent passengers, the removal of all the electrics saves weight, and you can still open them.........

Just not electrically or up and down, they pop out, and I think it is a brilliant idea, lighter weight, more fuel efficient, it is surprising how much weight has been saved.

Christian Galea 15 December 2014

I agree that it is likely the

I agree that it is likely the Twingo or Cactus that will get the award, but not because of their talents...neither seem to be 'great' cars - the Twingo comes closes to be an ideal car but it's on the pricey side, the interior is a-bit unappealing, doesn't have a boot at the front to maximise storage and according to reviews isn't as fun to drive as it should be.