What would you choose?

For me, the European Car of the Year (ECOTY) award lost a little of its shine this time last year when jury members voted the VW Polo as the best new vehicle. The German supermini is a perfectly fine machine, but was it really a more worthy winner than the innovative Toyota iQ? Not in my eyes, but then I’m not on the judging panel. The shortlist of seven for the 2011 honour has been announced, and those in the running include the Alfa Romeo Giulietta, Citroen C3/DS3, Dacia Duster, Ford C-MAX/Grand C-MAX, Vauxhall Meriva and Volvo S60/V60. The most notable nominee is the Nissan Leaf, the first EV to ever reach this far in the competition. The hardest thing for jurors must be trying to narrow down the long list to the short one. In the initial batch of 41 cars – and therefore already eliminated – was some pretty serious metal. On paper least, you could make a good case for the Nissan Juke, Kia Sportage, MINI Countryman, Suzuki Swift, Mercedes CLS, Honda CR-Z and Jaguar XJ to be an alternative final seven. Yet all these cars have already missed the cut. I’ve saved special mention for the Peugeot RCZ, which is another one that won’t be the winner. It’s a cracking performance car, a real shot in the arm for the French brand, and would have made my shortlist. The winner will be announced on 29 November.