Car of the Year nominations

The nominations for this year's European Car of the Year have been announced.

Instead of the usual shortlist of seven, this year there are eight contenders, whittled down from 41 entrants. The shortlist is: Citroën C4 Picasso, Fiat Grande Punto, Ford S-Max, Honda Civic, Opel/Vauxhall Corsa, Peugeot 207, Skoda Roomster and Volvo C30.

There is no obvious favourite this year, although French and Italian cars do disproportionately well in this award - winners in the past have included cars like the Fiat Bravo/Brava and the Renault 9.