The seven cars on the shortlist for Car of the Year 2023 have been announced ahead of the winner being revealed in January.
The shortlisted cars are the Jeep Avenger, Kia Niro, Nissan Ariya, Peugeot 408, Renault Austral, Subaru Solterra/Toyota bZ4X, and Volkswagen ID Buzz.
The winner will be named at the Brussels motor show on 13 January, a new venue for the award’s announcement.
Autocar is one of nine sponsors of the award from across Europe, and the voting jury this year consists of 58 jurors from 22 countries.
The seven cars were chosen from a long list of 27 cars. The likes of the BMW iX1, Dacia Jogger, Honda Civic, MG 4, Range Rover, Toyota GR86 and Vauxhall Astra were among these on the long list not to make the cut.
Five of the shortlisted seven cars are electric. The Avenger is the first Jeep designed and engineered exclusively for Europe, while Stellantis sibling brand Peugeot is represented with the 408, a new SUV-estate hybrid.
Other EVs on the list include the Niro, which is also offered as a hybrid; the Ariya, only the second electric Nissan after the Nissan Leaf; the co-developed Solterra and bZ4X that share a shortlisted entry; and the ID Buzz, the famous VW camper van reborn for the electric age.
The Austral, meanwhile, is a new hybrid SUV that replaces the Renault Kadjar.
Last year’s winner was the Kia EV6, the first time the Korean brand has won the award.
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Only one saloon 408 made the shortlist. Shouldn't be long before all are vans and SUVs
Hyundai/Kia at the very top of the game.
This award has more to do with the lavishness of the press junket provided to the motoring journalists involved, than the merits of the cars involved.
No BMW has ever won, nor any Tesla.