My judgement is based on following grounds:

Volkswagen Polo

The perfect car for this uncertain times, when everything is scaled back from luxurious glamour to basic needs, the new Polo is a down-to-earth-car without the haut gout of a no frills carrier. It is all about quality, from the solid and roomy interior to the sporty handling, which yet does not compromise on a comfortable ride. Clearly in line with the actual needs of customers in search of an affordable car capable of doing the everyday-job without being too boring, its engine line-up combines frugality with fun to drive. And the 3-liter-Polo is on its way. What else could you ask from a truly car of the year 2010?

Citroën C3 Picasso

A cute -looking family-car for people, who need this extra-portion of room without compromising on a compact footprint. The C3 Picasso deserves his ranking due to the benefits he offers in his very well planned, versatile and most of all easy to handle interior. It proves to be the right type of car for low-key times, offering a lot of interior space for the money, without the exterior of a light-duty commercial vehicle.

Mercedes E-class

A big, luxurious limousine that comes with a surprising engine line-up, proving that size does not matter anymore, even in this upscale segment of the market. The Mercedes-Engineers showed with their new four-cylinder Diesel, that the need for superior performance and a smooth soundtrack in a big car do not necessarily ask for big engines anymore. Nevertheless, the new E-class – although it shows, Mercedes has learned the quality-lesson given by it’s predecessor – may be the right car for the wrong time. Blame the time for it – not the car.

Opel Astra

If the people at Opel can hammer out such extraordinary cars like last years winner, the Insignia, and this years runner up (at least in my personal listing) Astra, despite the dramatic situation they had to handle with all the Magna/GM-mess, one wonders, why Detroit ever should have considered to let them go and become part of a competitor. The Astra definitely raises the bar for ride&handling in its class, offers the best seats you can get in the business  and follows its bigger brother Insignia in implementing some serious new technology, thus staying affordable to costumers. The overloaded center-console remaining as its only weak point, the new Astra is bound to be another so much needed success for struggling Opel.

Peugeot 3008

Even if the uniquely styled 3008 may be considered as the answer of Peugeot to a question, so far no one has asked, it proves to be a tremendously comfortable long-distance cruiser with a very beneficial interior, once the lively discussion over which drawer of the ever more segmented market it fits in has ended. Nevertheless, being one of the top seven cars of the year is the best recommendation it deserves to achieve in my point of view.

Skoda Yeti

Not being the first in a new segment, does not necessarily mean, you can’t be successful. After some examples by mother-company Volkswagen, now it’s the turn of Skoda with the new Yeti to proof it is possible. The compact sized SUV offers everything customers of this kind of vehicles like, adding a certain feel of affordable quality and robustness, every new Skoda shines with so far. The flexible interior and a four-wheel-drive-option with real-life capabilities add to the positive image of the Yeti as the perfect rugged car for rugged times.

Toyota IQ

One point for the concept of a sub-3-meter city-car offering more than two seats and no cargo-space like its well known competitor. It is truly impressive, how the Toyota-Engineers managed to squeeze all this technology in a car of this size. On the other hand, a modern city- car with a real-life fuel-consumption of up to 7 liters for 100 km is not a very glorious chapter for a fuel-saving-pioneer like Toyota. And the lack of traction in the wet is a pity for a front-wheel-drive car.