2009 World Car of the Year Finalists Announced

The 2009 World Car of the Year has just announced its 10 finalists voted by over 50 journalists from countries all over the world, including Belgium, China, India, Malaysia, Poland and Russia. The ten finalists are actually eleven; due to a tie for the tenth place, the jury decided to include 11 models in the race for the grand prize.

The grand winner will be officially announced after the final round of voting in February. Each vehicle included in the top will be closely analyzed for value, safety, environmental responsibility, emotional appeal and significance. The top three finalists will be announced on March 9, 2009.

Getting back to the eleven finalists, the list also includes some new entries, such as Fiat 500 and Ford Fiesta. Mazda is again an important contender (the Japanese carmaker won the 2008 World Car of the Year title with Mazda2) with its new Mazda6 model.

Even though it's not even included among the 2009 World Car of the Year finalists, Mercedes has two models on the 2009 World Performance Car top ten finalists board, namely the C63 AMG and the SL 63 AMG. Porsche is also present with 911 Carrera while Lamborghini competes with its popular LP560-4 Gallardo.

The 2009 World Car finalists are:

Audi A4 / Avant
BMW 7 Series
Citroen C5 Sedan / C5 Tourer
Fiat 500
Ford Fiesta
Honda Fit / Jazz
Jaguar XF
Mazda Atenza / Mazda6
Nissan GT-R
Toyota iQ
Volkswagen Golf VI

The 2009 World Performance Car finalists are:

Audi RS 6 Avant
BMW 135i Coupe / Cabriolet
Corvette ZR1
Lamborghini LP560-4 Gallardo
Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG
Mercedes-Benz SL 63 AMG
Mitsubishi Evo X / Evo MR
Nissan GT-R
Porsche 911 Carrera
Subaru Impreza WRX STI