Electric Jaguar among seven shortlisted finalists for European Car of the Year

Jaguar's new all-electric I-Pace and hatchback rivals the Ford Focus and Kia Ceed are among the seven finalists for the 2019 European car of the year.

The seven are: Alpine A110; Citroën C5 Aircross; Ford Focus; Jaguar I-Pace; Kia Ceed; Mercedes-Benz A-Class; and Peugeot 508.

The inclusion of Renault’s Alpine may seem a surprise, given it’s a niche two-seater sports car, but any time spent behind the wheel quickly asserts its credibility for the list. Unfortunatley for Irish buyers, we’re unlikely to see it on sale here any time soon.

The Jaguar was a favourite to make the cut, impressing for its range, interior and driving dynamics. While pricing is high, it’s genuinely, enormously, engagingly, fun to drive.

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Of the hatchbacks in the race, the Focus and Ceed are pretty close rivals, but in a recent twin test between the two, we found the Ford came out on top. The Mercedes-Benz A-Class offers top-end technology with crisp performing engines and sporty styling.

Citroen's C5 Aircross, which has been on the market in China for a while, is a surprise, but it's styling is a big lure.

Finally the Peugeot 508 proves there is life left in the family saloon format, despite the rush to crossovers and SUVs. Incredibly impressive to drive, the one issue we have with it is that it has probably missed the boat. If this car had been offered to market 10 years ago it would have rocketed to the top of most mainstream buyers’ wishlists.