2017 World Car Awards top three finalists

A jury of seventy-five motoring journalists from twenty-three countries has decided the top three finalists in each category of the 2017 World Car Awards.

In alphabetical order, the contenders are:

World Car of the Year

• Audi Q5
• Jaguar F-Pace
• Volkswagen Tiguan

Deserves to win: A crossover, a crossover or a crossover. Of the three, the Jaguar should take the prize as it represents a major departure for the brand.

World Luxury Car of the Year

• BMW 5 Series
• Mercedes-Benz E-Class
• Volvo S90 / V90

Deserves to win: Volvo S90 / V90, simply because beating those two esteemed German rivals would be a serious upset.

World Performance Car of the Year

• Audi R8 Spyder
• McLaren 570S
• Porsche 718 Boxster / Cayman

Deserves to win: The Audi R8 Coupé triumphed in this category last year, so another model needs to come first in 2017. Porsche’s bold decision to ditch the Boxster’s / Cayman’s six-cylinder engines in favour of four-cylinder turbocharged units is certainly worthy of recognition.

World Green Car of the Year

• Chevrolet Bolt
• Tesla Model X
• Toyota Prius Prime

Deserves to win: Chevrolet Bolt, given its combination of decent battery range and mass-market appeal.

World Car Design of the Year

• Jaguar F-Pace
• Mercedes-Benz S-Class Cabriolet
• Toyota C-HR

Deserves to win: Toyota C-HR for being original, or Jaguar F-Pace for thoughtful styling.

World Urban Car of the Year

• BMW i3 (94 Ah)
• Citroën C3
• Suzuki Ignis

Deserves to win: This is a new category for 2017, which seems to be exclusively for smaller vehicles. The BMW i3’s lack of tailpipe emissions (in pure electric form, at least) surely means it’s best suited to congested and polluted urban environments.

All six winners will be announced at the New York International Auto Show on the 13th of April.

Related posts:
2017 European Car of the Year winner named
2017 NACTOY winners
2016 World Car Awards winners