It's all a matter of choice and good judgement, says Andrew Hamilton.
The seven cars short-listed for the European Car of the Year award 2003 have just been announced. Most of the finalists were predictable, but surprisingly the Nissan Primera has been left out. The result will be announced in mid-November. Judging is by 58 leading motoring journalists from Europe and Turkey. They will assess the cars on wide-ranging criteria including style, packaging, value-for-money and, of course, ride and handling characteristics. The current 2002 holder of the title is the Peugeot 307.
The surprise omission of the Primera is a major blow to Nissan. It expected its family and fleet car standard-bearer to figure strongly in the final round.
Previous Primeras had been criticised for being too bland. The new car offered a much bolder profile. It came, too, with an innovative idea, a rear view camera that indicated obstacles - or a small child - when reversing. The driver's view came through the satellite navigation screen.
The seven car line-up has just one "posh" entry, the Mercedes Benz E-Class. The short-list also has three superminis: the Citroën C3, Ford Fiesta and Honda Jazz; two family and fleet models: the Mazda6 and Opel/Vauxhall Vectra, and Renault's small family Megane.
The journalist judges have 25 points to award among the seven cars, with no more than 10 points being awarded to any one car.
The Citroën C3's credentials have been enhanced by its clever Pluriel derivative. The Pluriel can transform into five different shapes including even an open pick-up.
Ford has put many of the space and engineering virtues of the Focus into the Fiesta, while the Honda Jazz majors hugely on space, with a plethora of space-saving ideas. The Mazda6 and Opel/Vauxhall Vectra, with vastly improved chassis dynamics and fresh styling, are a quantum leap from their dull predecessors. The Renault Megane with an intriguing bustle effect at the rear emphasises the French tendency to be "different" in styling but the engineering is very conventional.
The E-Class, being the "posh" candidate packs in more innovation and cleverness, compared with its humbler rivals. But prestige cars in recent years haven't done well in the European Car of the Year award. BMW's new 7-series and its Mercedes arch-rival, the S-Class, were shunned when it came to formulating the short list.
Andrew Hamilton represents Ireland on the European Car of the Year Jury.