Wheels Car of the Year 2016: The contenders

Meet the 25 nominees shooting for glory in Wheels Car of the Year 2016.

A HUGE field of stellar cars, eight experienced judges, seven exciting days and thousands of high octane kilometres… This is the 2016 Wheels Car of the Year.

Now in its 53rd year, the world’s longest-running motoring award for excellence is upping the ante. This year, our exclusive award will become more inclusive. This year COTY has two complementary goals. First, and always foremost, is to crown the Wheels Car of the Year. Secondly, we’re determined to make COTY the de facto Wheels road-test annual. We’re cramming more great cars launched in the past 12 months into COTY. We’ll make our eight expert judges work harder than ever before. And we’ll cover the highs and lows in more detail, and across more publishing platforms.

We’ve even convinced our publisher to add an extra 32 pages to the February issue of Wheels, so we can give every one of our 25 nominees for 2016 Car of the Year (yep, we’re adjusting the award’s name to reflect the winner’s year of reign) the coverage they so rightly deserve.

So, without further ado, here are the 25 nominees for the 2016 Wheels Car of the Year.

Ford Everest

Audi Q7

Audi TT

BMW 2 Series Active Tourer

BMW 7 Series

BMW i8

BMW X1

Ford Mondeo

Honda HR-V

Hyundai Tucson

Jaguar XE

Jeep Renegade

Kia Optima

Kia Sorento

Land Rover Discovery Sport

Lexus RC

Mazda CX-3

Mazda MX-5

Mercedes-Benz AMG GT S

Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupe

Skoda Fabia

Suzuki Celerio

Suzuki Vitara

Volkswagen Passat

Volvo XC90

Roll on COTY 2016. We can’t wait.

Honourable discharges: Cars that just missed the cut

A NO-SHOW rather than any lack of achievement means the Ford Mustang forfeits its chance to strike this year’s COTY jackpot. Ford Australia couldn’t provide cars for us to drive in time, a real shame for the iconic pony car.

Similarly, the Haval H2, H8 and H9 range of SUVs must be on a slow boat from China, as they also missed the wildcard entry deadline – as has the Mercedes-Benz GLC.

As a tool-for-task proposition, the Kia Carnival is one of the year’s most improved cars. Its handsome design, cabin quality and functionality add to the people-mover class, but the diesel is noisy and the dynamics below par.

The popular Subaru Outback is a big leap forward over its ungainly predecessor, highlighted by sharp pricing and real safety progress. However, rival wagons such as the Ford Mondeo and Mazda 6 edge past it.

Renault’s sassy Captur is a victim of bad timing. Had it been released in 2014 as intended, before the spate of newer and better compact SUVs (CX-3, HR-V and Vitara) came through, the Clio-based Frenchy might have scored a guernsey. However, hobbled by a recalcitrant dual-clutch ‘box with the 1.2-litre turbo four, it must stay behind.

Finally, who doesn’t adore the Alfa Romeo 4C – a raw and uncompromising driver’s car harking back to the marque’s racing heritage? We should just be grateful it exists. But while the 4C’s raw driving experience is exciting, it lacks polish in almost all areas and its pricing is relatively steep.