There are dozens of “Top car” competitions held in every corner of the world every year - they are held by just about every magazine and organization. But the most inportant and respectable of them for the drivers and experts is Car of the Year or COTY.

Last year all the compact hatch-backs (the most popular cars among the European) were beaten by the minivan Ford S-Max. This year among the nominees (and at the moment there are already 32 of them) there are no minivans, at the same time there are more than enough worthy candidates. In November 58 journalists from 22 countries will choose the top 7 nominees which will compete for the prize – the “car of the year 2008″ sticker.

The segment of costly cars (around $100 000) is represented by 2 cars – BMW X5 and Lexus LS 460/600h. They can hardly count on winning the contest, because the price is one of the basic factors when choosing the car of the year. And these cars are expensive.

Far more chances has the brand-new coupe Audi A5/S5, although the price of the car might cross out all its obvious advantages.

The representatives of the middle class are more likely to compete for the price. Only Chrysler Sebring is not likely to win the contest. But Ford Mondeo, Mercedes C-class, Renault Laguna and Volvo V70/CX70 have good chances.

The middle class can be easily overtaken by “little ones”. They include some obvious outsiders like Daihatsu Materia, but at the same time there are such hits like Fiat 500, Mazda2, Renault Twingo and Skoda Fabia. The class features the dark horse of the contest – Smart Fortwo.

There are a few decent cars among golf-class. For instance the Korean “Europeans” Kia cee’d and Hyundai i30. “Japanese” Nissan Qashqai, Subaru Impreza and Toyota Corolla/Auris.

The greatest number of cars is represented in the class of SUV. There are 11 vehicles here. It is not likely that the American division consisting of Dodge Nitro, Jeep Patriot and Jeep Wrangler will get into top 7. The same can be said about SsangYong Actyon.

The crossover class is represented by Opel Antara and Nissan X-Trail. Far more chances have Land Rover Freelander 2, Mazda CX-7 and Volkswagen Tiguan. But the car that is most likely to win the class is one of these three vehicles: Citroen C-Crosser, Mitsubishi Outlander and Peugeot 4007.

2007 Concepts: Porsche GT2, Alpina B6s, Opel Flextreme

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