A couple of months ago we reported on the European Car of the Year award, which is run by a panel of journalists from various publications across the continent. Having filtered through the initial 32 contenders, the final seven most impressive cars of the year have finally been announced.

Making the cut are the Fiat 500, Ford Mondeo, Kia cee'd, Mazda 2, Mercedes C-class, Nissan Qashqai, and the Peugeot 308. All these models are new or have been heavily redesigned in the past 12 months and all represent the ‘best of breed’ in their segment, whether it be the cute and curvy Fiat 500 or the popular C-class luxury saloon.

Last year’s winner was the Ford S-Max, while the Renault Clio got the award in 2006, the Toyota Prius in 2005, Fiat Panda in 2004, or the Renault Megane in 2003. We initially predicted the Mazda 2 or the Ford Mondeo would take the gong and that hasn’t changed. Both cars have been getting rave reviews in the European press so we expect a closely fought title. The winner will be announced on November 19th.