Car of the Year finalists chosen

The ink has barely dried on the Vauxhall Insignia's winner's certificate for the European Car of the Year 2009, but already the shortlist has been drawn for the 2010 award.

Last year's competition was as close as it's possible to be, with the Insignia pipping the Ford Fiesta to the prize by just a single point - scoring 321 points from the panel of judges, compared to 320 for the Fiesta.

Lest you've forgotten, the prize is awarded based on a points scoring system from a panel of 59 car journalists across 23 European countries. Once the shortlist is drawn up (by a vote), each judge has 25 points to award across at least five cars on the list, with a maximum of ten for any one. Here are this year's contenders:

Citroen C3 Picasso
Mercedes-Benz E-Class
Vauxhall Astra
Peugeot 3008
Skoda Yeti
Toyota iQ
Volkswagen Polo

So, do you agree? Are there any glaring errors or omissions there? Let us know what you think on the forum.

Mark Nichol