As our SACarFan team begins to think about the 2014 Wesbank/SAGMJ Car of the Year Finalists and how we’ll be putting them through their paces at the Gerotek proving grounds in January, the seven finalists of the European Car of the Year have been revealed for 2014.
These COTY competitions are run differently all over the world. In the case of the European Car of the Year, a jury of 58 motoring journalists over 22 countries must evaluate and cast a final vote before the March 3rd announcement at the Geneva Motor Show. The list of European Car of the Year finalists for 2014, in alphabetical order are: the BMW i3, Citroen C4 Picasso, Mazda3, Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Peugeot 308, Skoda Octavia and the Tesla Model S.
You’ll note on the (rather dreary looking) list there are two electric/range extender vehicles, namely the BMW i3 and the Tesla Model S. The former makes use of an innovative electric drivetrain and unique carbon fibre construction; priced at a relatively affordable level.
The latter is Elon Musk’s take on an electric city-friendly BMW 5 Series-sized vehicle. In light of previous European COTY winners like the Vauxhall Ampera and Nissan Leaf, can anything trump the two EV entrants in the juries eyes?
