What Car has announced the full run down of its cars of the year, with our choices announced too.

What Car? has revealed the full list of contenders for the coveted Car of the Year Awards as the annual celebration of the very best in automotive draws ever closer.

A What Car? Award win is amongst the most sought-after accolades in the car industry. What Car? tests each car back-to-back with key rivals to ensure that only cars able to deliver exceptional quality are shortlisted.

Covering 15 separate categories, the awards range from the best city runabouts to luxurious executive and performance cars. The overall Car of the Year will go to a newcomer that’s raised the benchmark sufficiently to beat not only the established competition across all categories, but all the other new metal from the past 12 months.

British-built models feature strongly, with 16 making the list as the UK automotive industry continues to produce exceptional cars. Hailing from Nissan’s Sunderland factory, the Nissan Qashqai (Small SUV) and Leaf (Electric Car) are both nominated.

Vauxhall’s British-built models have also made the list, as the latest Vauxhall Astra and Astra Sports Tourer compete for Family Car and Estate honours respectively.

What Car? editor Steve Huntingford said: “The automotive industry has excelled in the UK over recent years and that is evident in the list of nominees, in which many British-built cars have taken the market by storm and continue to do so. 

“As the industry goes from strength to strength, so have the What Car? Awards; it’s a real fixture of the automotive calendar and an exhilarating period for us as we begin to build up to awards night, starting with announcing the excellent 2017 contenders.

“Our panel of experts has a tough job ahead as it selects the stand-out car in each category and then the overall What Car? Car of the Year for 2017, which has to be extraordinary.”

The What Car? Awards set the highest standards for the automotive industry, and awards are only given to cars that truly excel in their class, and only the best of these will be named What Car? Car of the Year 2017. Last year’s overall winner was the Audi A4.

Elsewhere, the Reader Award will be one of the most hotly-contested prizes on the night. Voted for by What Car? readers, the award gets the public’s view on the most anticipated cars being brought to market over the next 12 months.

The What Car? Car of the Year Awards 2017 takes place on January 11 2017 at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane.

For more information, please visit: HERE

*16 British-built cars
Aston Martin DB11
Bentley Bentayga
Honda Civic
Jaguar F-Pace
Land Rover Discovery Sport
McLaren 540C
McLaren 570GT
Mini Clubman
Mini 5dr
Nissan Leaf
Nissan Qashqai
Range Rover
Rolls-Royce Dawn
Rolls-Royce Ghost
Vauxhall Astra
Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer

WHAT CAR? CAR OF THE YEAR AWARDS 2017 LONG LIST:

City
Hyundai i10
Skoda Citigo
Suzuki Celerio TMW CHOICE
Volkswagen Up

Small Car
Citroën C3 TMW CHOICE
Dacia Sandero
Ford Ka+
Mini 5dr
Nissan Micra
Renault Clio
Skoda Fabia
Suzuki Baleno

Family Car
Audi A3 Sportback
Honda Civic
Hyundai Ioniq
Nissan Pulsar
Renault Mégane TMW CHOICE
Seat Leon
Skoda Octavia
Toyota Prius
Vauxhall Astra

Small SUV
Audi Q2
BMW X1
Kia Niro
Nissan Qashqai
Peugeot 3008 TMW CHOICE
Seat Ateca
Suzuki Ignis
Suzuki Vitara TMW CHOICE
Toyota C-HR
Volkswagen Tiguan

Large SUV
Ford Edge
Ford Kuga
Jaguar F-Pace
Land Rover Discovery Sport TMW CHOICE
Mazda CX-5
Mercedes-Benz GLC
Skoda Kodiaq

Luxury SUV
Audi Q7
Bentley Bentayga TMW CHOICE
Porsche Macan
Range Rover
Tesla Model X
Volvo XC90

MPV
Citroën C3 Picasso
Citroën Grand C4 Picasso TMW CHOICE
Ford Galaxy
Renault Scénic
Renault Grand Scénic
Volkswagen Touran
Vauxhall Zafira Tourer

Estate
Audi A4 Allroad
Skoda Fabia Estate
Skoda Superb Estate
Mercedes-Benz E-Class Estate
Mini Clubman
Renault Mégane Sport Tourer
Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer
Volvo V90 TMW CHOICE

Hot Hatch
Audi S3
BMW 140i
Ford Fiesta ST
Ford Focus RS TMW CHOICE
Renault Mégane Renaultsport 275 S
Suzuki Swift Sport

Convertible
Audi A3 Cabriolet
Audi TT Roadster
BMW 4 Series Convertible
Fiat 124 Spider TMW CHOICE
Mazda MX-5
Mercedes-Benz C-Class Cabriolet
Mercedes-Benz S-Class Cabriolet
Rolls-Royce Dawn

Coupé
Audi A5
Audi TT
Aston Martin DB11 TMW CHOICE
Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupé
Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupé

Sports Car
Audi R8
Audi R8 Spyder
Audi TT RS
BMW M2
Ferrari 488 GTB
McLaren 540C TMW CHOICE
McLaren 570GT TMW CHOICE
Porsche Cayman
Porsche Boxster
Porsche 911

Electric Car
BMW i3
Hyundai Ioniq
Nissan Leaf
Renault Zoe
Tesla Model S TMW CHOICE
Tesla Model X TMW CHOICE
Volkswagen e-Golf

Executive Car
Alfa Romeo Giulia TMW CHOICE
Audi A3 Saloon
Audi A4
Mazda 6
Skoda Superb

Luxury Car
BMW 5 Series
BMW 7 Series
Porsche Panamera
Maserati Levante
Mercedes-Benz E-Class Saloon
Mercedes-Benz S-Class
Rolls-Royce Ghost TMW CHOICE
Volvo S90 TMW CHOICE

WhatCar magazine names and shames best and worst in true MPG lists.

• Seat Leon TDI is most efficient in What Car?’s tests; Vauxhall VXR8 the least
• Aston Martin V8 Vantage S surpasses official MPG figure, Ford Fiesta Zetec S Red Edition was the furthest away
• 268 cars tested during past 12 months

The most fuel-efficient car tested by the What Car? True MPG team over the last 12 months* – topping more than 200 other models – was the Seat Leon 5DR SE Ecomotive 1.6 TDI, managing a real-world average fuel economy figure of 63.2mpg. 

The top three best cars (yet they are still way below claimed)

The Bottom Three - (but aren't they a fun bunch)

Since launching True MPG with official fuel partner Tesco in 2012, almost 500 cars have been assessed in real-world conditions, using cutting-edge test equipment, achieving economy figures that are an average of 20% lower than the Government figures. 

The most efficient vehicles tested over the past 12 months

Make	Model	Derivative	Fuel	Engine size (litre)	Power (PS)	Official Combined MPG	True MPG	Difference
SEAT	Leon 5DR	SE Ecomotive 1.6 TDI 110	Diesel	1.6	110	85.6	63.2	-26.20%
Citroen	DS3	e-HDi Airdream DSport Plus	Diesel	1.6	115	74.4	63	-15.30%
Mini	Cooper	D	Diesel	1.5	114	80.7	62.6	-22.40%
Skoda	Octavia	Greenline III TDi CR	Diesel	1.6	110	88.3	61.9	-29.90%
Honda	Civic	i-DTEC EX+	Diesel	1.6	118	72.4	61.8	-14.60%
SEAT	Leon ST	SE Ecomotive 1.6 TDI 110	Diesel	1.6	110	85.6	61.5	-28.20%
Peugeot	308	Allure BlueHDi	Diesel	1.6	120	88.3	60.8	-31.10%
Citroën	C4 Cactus	Flair BlueHDI	Diesel	1.6	100	83.1	60.1	-27.70%
Skoda	Octavia	Greenline III TDi CR	Diesel	1.6	110	88.3	59.4	-32.70%
Hyundai	i20	SE CRDi	Diesel	1.4	90	68.9	59.4	-13.80%

Vauxhall’s VXR8 was the least efficient overall, recording a paltry 19.5mpg; however, like the Aston Martin, it actually exceeded its official figure of 18.5mpg. 

Least efficient vehicles tested over the past 12 months

Make	Model	Derivative	Fuel	Official Combined MPG	True MPG	Difference
Vauxhall	VXR8	GTS	Petrol	18.5	19.5	5.4%
Porsche	Cayenne	V8 Turbo	Petrol	25.2	20.7	-17.9%
Aston Martin	V8 Vantage S	N430	Petrol	21.9	23.2	5.9%
Porsche	Macan	Turbo S-A	Petrol	30.7	23.4	-23.8%
Lexus	RC-F	F Sport V8	Petrol	26.2	23.8	-9.2%
Audi	S8	SE Executive LWB	Petrol	29.4	24.7	-16.0%
Jaguar	F-Type	R	Petrol	25.5	25.7	0.8%
Mitsubishi	Shogun	DI-DC LWB SG4	Diesel	33.2	26.5	-20.2%
Jaguar	F-Type	V6	Petrol	32.8	26.7	-18.6%
Subaru	WRX STi	Symetrical AWD	Petrol	27.2	26.9	-1.1%

Even the Seat’s table-topping figure was below its claimed figure of 85.6mpg – a result of manufacturers being forced by legislation to test their cars in laboratory conditions. 

The Citroën C3 VTR+ e-HDi Airdream remains the most efficient car, on the road according to True MPG analysis, achieving 70.3mpg. 

Whatcar.com editor, Jim Holder, said: “Buyers get frustrated when they can’t achieve claimed fuel economy figures. That’s because the official EU tests are carried out in a laboratory under very specific conditions that don’t reflect real-world driving. However, we took action a few years ago by launching True MPG and have published real-world figures for hundreds of popular vehicles since.”

The testing has also highlighted an unexpected trend among high-performance cars for getting closest to their official claimed fuel economy figures.

 While far from the most economical overall, the Aston Martin V8 S, which packs 430bhp, beat its official fuel economy figure by 6% – achieving 23.2 instead of 21.9mpg. 

Another powerful V8-powered sports car, the new Jaguar F-Type R, was the only other vehicle to achieve the same feat during the past 12 months, with a True MPG figure of 25.7 compared to its official 25.5mpg.

Alternatively, the Ford Fiesta Zetec S was furthest away from its EU-sanctioned fuel economy, coming in 37% below claimed consumption figures.

Whatcar.com True MPG data is scientifically calculated by experienced engineers, who drive test vehicles over a variety of real roads, including motorway, A- and B-roads and in towns and villages.

Please visit http://www.whatcar.com/truempg/my-true-mpg for more detailed information.