The list of contenders for the 2016 European COTY is out. It features forty cars presently which would be narrowed down by the month of December 2015 and the winner will be disclosed in February 2016.

2015 Ferrari 488 GTB Exteriors
The Ferrari looks the part but winning the title is difficult

One of the most prestigious car awards in the world is the European COTY. The major reason for this is the popularity of the automobile industry in the continent and the fact that people want the best for the least money possible. This prompts manufacturers to give some of the best cars with good set of features and excellent safety technology to the region. The proceedings of choosing the 2016 European COTY have already begun with the initial list featuring 40 names. With two more rounds of voting to be done, the list will narrow down by December 2015 and results will be announced at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show on 29th February 2016.

The vehicles featuring on the list include cars from various segments like entry-level sedan, luxury sedans, SUVs and MPVs. To give you a perspective of how different are the cars, we can see the Renault Kadjar in the list and then there’s Ferrari 488 GTB too. Cars from the list which are either available in India or will be launched in the near future are the ones below –

  • Audi A4
  • Audi Q7
  • Audi R8
  • BMW 7-Series
  • BMW X1
  • Ferrari 488 GTB
  • Fiat Aegea
  • Ford Mustang
  • Honda Jazz
  • Jaguar XE
  • Jaguar XF
  • Land Rover Discovery Sport
  • Mercedes-Benz GLC / GLC Coupe
  • Mercedes-Benz GLE / GLE Coupe
  • Mercedes-AMG GT
  • Skoda Superb
  • SsangYong Tivoli
  • Volvo XC90

A fun fact is that ever since 1983, no premium carmaker’s offering has ever won the European COTY award and no supercar has won it since 1978. But that doesn’t mean things can’t change this time around. With excellent launches from brands like Volvo and Audi this year, they very well stand a chance to win the coveted title. However, we would place our bets on the SsangYong Tivoli considering how popular affordable compact SUVs are in India and the fact that the little one from the Korean automaker looks sporty and has received appreciation and positive reviews globally.

2015 SsangYong Tivoli Front
Sporty looks and decent feature set might work in the SsangYong Tivoli’s favour