With the South African Car of the Year award just around the corner, the finalists for the World Car of the Year have been announced. The World Car of the Year is chosen by a jury consisting of 66 distinguished automotive journalists from around the world who have now narrowed the list down to their top 10. From here they will then re-evaluate their votes on these 10 cars and judge them on overall merit, value, safety, environmental responsibility, emotional appeal and significance.

The top 10 finalists for the World Car of the Year are, in no particular order:

• BMW 5 Series

• BMW X3

• Porsche Cayenne

• Nissan Leaf

• Audi A1

• Audi A8

• Volvo S60 / V60

• Mercedes-Benz SLS

• Jeep Grand Cherokee

• Jaguar XJ

Once the judges have re-evaluated their votes they will decide on the top 3 cars which will be announced at the Geneva Motor Show in March. Then the final awards will be handed out at the New York Auto Show which goes down in April. There is however a surprising lack of Volkswagen cars in this top 10, which is not normally the case in the World Car of the Year who have favoured VW in the past. The 2009 World Car of the Year was the VW Golf, followed in 2010 by the VW Polo taking home top honours.

Check back for updates on the top 3 and the eventual winner when they are announced.