WhatCar? announces the shortlist for 2015 Car Of The Year.

What Car? has revealed the shortlist for its prestigious 2015 Car of the Year Award.

The shortlist comprises 26 outstanding vehicles that went on sale for the first time in 2014. But it includes the Smart Fortwo, Volkswagen Golf SV,Nissan X-Trail, Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupe, BMW i8, Porsche Macan and the Lamborghini Huracan.

The annual What Car? Awards are the most sought-after prizes for car manufacturers and the car-buying public alike. What Car? experts ensure that only the cars that deliver exceptionally against stringent criteria are shortlisted.

As well as the overall Car of the Year Award, the event celebrates the very best vehicles across 16 separate caterories, as chosen by the public and What Car? industry professionals.

For 2015, individual categories are: city car, small car, family car, electric car, coupé, estate car, mpv, hot hatch, convertible, small SUV, large SUV, executive car, sports car, luxury car, reader award and a safety award. This last award is sponsored by the Thatcham research centre and open only to vehicles that have achieved five Euro NCAP stars and come fitted with Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB).

What Car? editor Jim Holder said: “The new car market has been buoyant in the UK during 2014 and the automotive industry in the UK has bloomed – that means there are a heap of exciting new cars that are all genuine contenders for our main COTY prize. No wonder the decision-making process around the shortlist was even more intense than usual.”

Awards are given to the cars that set the highest standards in their class and only the best is named What Car? Car of the Year. Last year, the Sunderland-built Nissan Qashqai was crowned the overall winner.

This year’s event takes place on January 7, 2015 at the Grosvenor House, Park Lane, London.  

WHAT CAR? 2015 COTY AWARD SHORT LIST

City Car (sponsored by Warranty Direct)

Renault Twingo

Smart Fortwo

Small Car

Hyundai i20

Mazda 2

Mini 5dr

Skoda Fabia

Vauxhall Corsa

Family Car

Ford Mondeo

Nissan Pulsar

Electric car (sponsored by Hankook)

BMW i8

Coupe

Audi TT

Jaguar F-type Coupe

Mercedes S-Class Coupe

Estate Car

Ford Mondeo Estate

Volkswagen Passat Estate

MPV

BMW 2 Series Active Tourer

Volkswagen Golf SV

Small SUV

Citroen C4 Cactus

Kia Soul

Large SUV

Land Rover Discovery Sport

Nissan X-Trail

Porsche Macan

Executive car (sponsored by Allianz Global Assistance)

Volkswagen Passat

Sports Car

BMW M3

Lamborghini Huracan

McLaren 650S Spider