“D” day is coming! It will be March 4th , on the eve of the opening of the Geneva Motor Show, that the events room of this centenary event will once again host the ceremony for the announcement of the Car Of The Year (COTY, for friends) and the awarding of the prize to the winning constructor.
But before that, the sixty members of the COTY jury had this week the opportunity to test the final seven finalists.
As always, the chosen location was the CERAM test circuit in Mortefontaine, near Paris. It is a complex of tracks used by many brands to develop their future cars and which, for two days, receives the COTY judges, providing the best conditions to test, on a closed circuit and with all available models, the seven candidates for the award that is considered by the industry as the most prestigious.
A little of history…
The COTY is undoubtedly the oldest award in the automotive industry, as the first edition dates back to 1964, when the award was awarded to the Rover 3500.
Making a little history, COTY has been an editorial initiative since the beginning. , which began by bringing together seven of the most reputable car magazines from seven European countries. And it continues to be so.
The selection of models for the competition is made according to very clear criteria, summarizing the models presented during the last twelve months before the election, and it is mandatory that they are on sale in at least five markets.
So the brands do not apply, who chooses what we call the long list, which brings together all eligible cars, is the direction of COTY, made up of journalists elected among the judges.
all in the open
Transparency is the fundamental word of COTY. All the rules can be consulted on the website www.caroftheyear.org where you can find out that, from the initial list of all cars that meet the criteria to be voted, a smaller list with the seven finalists is then elected by the 60 judges. the winner is then chosen.
The assessment follows some parameters that are published on the website, but that would not even be necessary. Confidence is given to the judges, who must be specialized journalists, whose main occupation is to test cars and publish their tests in the best specialized media in their countries.
If you are asking how to get here, I can say that, in my case, as in all others, admission to this “restricted club” is made exclusively by invitation from the board, after consulting the other jurors.
how to vote
Transparency continues in the final voting process, where each juror has 25 points to distribute to at least five of the seven finalists. That is, you can only give zero points to two cars.
Then you have to choose your favorite among the seven, and give it more points than the others. Then you can distribute the points as you see fit, among the others, as long as the total sum gives 25 points.
But then comes the really interesting part: each judge has to write a text justifying all the scores he has given, even the cars he has decided to give zero points. And these texts are published on the website www.caroftehyear.org the minute after the winner of each year is announced. More transparency than this...
The evaluation parameters are part of what is expected of a normal test of a car, but the interpretation is up to each one, according to the specifics of their country. There are no tables to fill in, there is experience and common sense. Of course, a juror from a northern European country has other priorities compared to a southern one. Not only because of the typical weather conditions in each region, but also because of the rates and prices charged.
Jurors from 23 countries
The confrontation of opinions about the same car is always one of the aspects that I like the most in this finalist test, the only time of the year when we gather all 60 judges, from 23 countries. The level of car knowledge of all the judges is very deep, especially since many of them have decades of experience in testing cars.
In general, the winning cars are widely used models, as the jury understands that the award should be a guide for motorists who are looking to buy a new car. Studies carried out in the past have concluded that winning the COTY effectively brings an increase in sales of the winning model, it is not just a matter of prestige.
But there are always some surprises on the shortlist. Basically, most of the judges are passionate about cars, so they can't resist valuing some more emotional cars and others with more avant-garde technologies. In the history of COTY, cars like the Porsche 928 and the Nissan Leaf have already won, just to give two examples of this.
The 2019 finalists
I asked some of my teammates which would be the favorites to win this year, but the ensemble is too balanced for anyone to risk a prediction. This year, the finalists were these, in alphabetical order:
THE Alpine A110 it is clearly the choice of those in love, which really fell in love with many journalists who tried it throughout the year. But it is a two-seat sports car with restricted production and limited use.
THE Citroën C5 Aircross takes the brand to a segment where it has never been, with an SUV that bets on comfort, but where the choice of interior materials is debatable.
THE Ford Focus continues in this generation to prioritize dynamics and engines, but its style and image are no longer as original as in the first generation.
THE Jaguar I-Pace is a good example of how you can make a 100% electric car without betraying the brand's roots, but it's not a model within the reach of many purses.
THE Kia Ceed enters the third generation with a very complete product and an innovative shooting brake version, but the brand image is still not among the most glamorous.
THE Mercedes-Benz Class A it has improved a lot compared to the previous generation and has an excellent voice command system, but it is not the cheapest in the segment.
Finally, the Peugeot 508 it wants to revive the three-volume saloons, with an innovative style, but habitability is not one of its strengths.
Anyway, these are just some of my opinions about the seven finalists, after having tested them all, some of them several times, in different countries and on very different roads. Since the election of COTY is done in total democracy, no one can know how mathematics will order the seven finalists, when all the jurors have voted.
the last test
In this event, the brands represented in the list of finalists are invited to make a final presentation of their car to the judges, in a time trial session of just fifteen minutes each. It's the rules.Some brands bring CEOs to give it a more institutional look, others bet on videos and a direct message, others even put their best engineers to explain everything and this year a brand even appeared listing the reasons why your car should win and the others don't. Needless to say, the targeted brands were not at all happy with this humorous detail…
Strangely, one of the brands decided not to attend this clarification session, open to questions, some of which were very difficult for the representatives present to answer.
some surprises
Each brand takes to Mortefontaine several engines of its finalist model, but, to spice up the session, some decided to also bring some surprises, in the form of future versions of the finalist models, which are not yet for sale.
Kia brought the plug-in version of the Ceed SW and the SUV variant, both heavily camouflaged. I was able to guide the two of them for a couple of laps around the circuit, concluding that the SUV might need a softer suspension while the plug-in had its battery low, limiting the impressions to be taken. Inside a tent, with exclusive access, Kia had Ceed's SUV, but without permission to photograph. I can only say that I liked what I saw…
Still in camouflage, Kia didn't hesitate to bring the next members of the Ceed family: PHEV version and Xceed SUV
Ford also brought two new products, the sports version ST, with 280 hp and the Active, with 3 cm higher suspension and plastic mudguards. But the American brand asked not to talk about ST driving impressions yet, and we all agreed. As for the Active, what I can say is that the higher suspension doesn't change much of the excellent driving feel of all Focuss. And that's good news.
Citroën also took a prototype of the Plug-in Hybrid version of the C5 Aircross, but only for static photos.
What they say
At this point, no judge has much desire to point out favorites, especially this year, when the fight seems to be so close. But everyone is happy to look to the past and the future and answer my questions about what COTY is worth and what the future will be like. So I took the opportunity and spoke with some of the journalists present, to try to take an “X-ray” to the organization Car Of The Year. Here are the questions and answers.
What reasons make COTY have such relevance?
“The quality of the judges, the transparency of an award that cannot be manipulated. It's our DNA and what other awards don't have. And also the European market, which elects it, made up of a lot of diversity but also homogeneous. In addition, we chose cars that you can see on the roads, we didn't choose “concept-cars” but cars that people can buy.”
What makes COTY strong and what should it improve?
“We define the cars that consumers should buy. We give you the best information and in this finalist test we have seven of the best. The group of 60 judges who elect COTY is made up of the most reputable experts in Europe and we have to make more use of this in the future. We have to give car buyers the answers, we have to be closer to them.”
What are COTY's main strengths?
“There are basically two things. The first is that, as expert journalists, we push the industry to make better and better cars – they know they have to be the best if they want to win. Secondly, we produce very good material for the consumer to support their choice when buying a car. Here's an objective and professional analysis to decide in the best way.”
What has evolved in COTY over the years?
“The entry of younger members and the opening to the outside world, through social media, is a revolution. It's the first time in fifty years that COTY is really changing. With newer members, new ideas arrive, the analysis is no longer just related to driving and becomes more complete, with more detail and encompassing new areas of the driving experience, such as connectivity.”
Why can consumers trust COTY?
“For the experience of the judges, for their specialization, for the truly democratic choice of 60 experts. The discipline and rigor applied by each one to reach an objective and rigorous verdict. Here we have something very good, but still small. We have to make our opinion reach more people, our voice has to be heard more by more people.”
What can your readers profit from COTY?
“L’Automobile is part of the organizing committee and this is a legacy that dates back to the nineties, when we succeeded L’Equipe. At that time, we tried to reinforce the weight of COTY, with our readers, with the advantage that we were no longer starting from scratch. And we have plans to do even more, both in the paper edition and on our website. We regularly publish articles about the Coty and our readers appreciate it, especially when the winning car is popular with the majority. It's always a “boost” in sales for a car that wins, it gives consumers an extra bit of confidence.”
Regardless of the result, one thing is certain, COTY continues to be a very important event for the industry, duly celebrated by the winner in the post-victory advertising and in the small sticker that usually sticks on the rear window of each unit produced from this time.
How many of us have not already had one of the elect, with that sticker? Try it out: look at the rear windows of cars parked on the streets and try to find winners from years past.
