The Fiat Tipo/Aegea, Honda HR-V, Hyundai Tucson, Mazda CX-3 and Opel/Vauxhall Astra have all been announced as finalists in the AUTOBEST 2016 awards.
All five cars will compete for the prize of "Best Buy Car of Europe in 2016", with the winner set to be announced on December 15.
CompleteCar.ie's own Road Test Editor, Dave Humphreys, represents Ireland on the jury that represents 26 European countries.
For a car to qualify for the "AUTOBEST Best Buy Car of Europe" award it must cost no more than €20,000 excluding all local taxes. In addition to this main award, the jury also present awards based on design, technology, economy, innovation, performance as well as company and individual recognition awards.
The new Opel Astra has already been announced as the winner of the "SAFETYBEST 2015" award for its IntelliLux LED Matrix Light system, which is a first for a car in this segment of the market.
The AUTOBEST jury has also awarded Olivier Francois with the "MANBEST 2015" award for this outstanding career as Chief Marketing Officer at Fiat and subsequently Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. He has proven to be one of the most creative executives in the automotive industry and has often developed new marketing approaches. ""Olivier is the "king" of advertising on both sides of the Atlantic. He led the creative teams of FCA brands inventing the most sought-after video clips during record-breaking multi-million audiences that the American Superbowl provides," commented Dan Vardie, Founder and Chairman of AUTOBEST.
Anything else?
Final testing of the five finalist cars will take place on November 25 and 26 at the NAVAK centre in Serbia and following this all jurors will cast their vote.