C-Class scoops Car of the Year award

Mercedes-Benz's C-Class has scooped Australia's premier new-car award,  Car of the Year 2007.

The C-Class convincingly came out on top of 20 new models after Wheels' week-long testing program.

The six finalists were: Ford Mondeo, Mazda 2, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Skoda Roomster, Volkswagen Eos and BMW M3.

Wheels judges settled on the C-Class for its combination of standard safety features, electronic driver aids, dynamic ability, ride comfort, build quality and design.

Editor Ged Bulmer said: "Every C-Class model in the range shares these outstanding core attributes".

The eight-member judging panel considered the entire vehicle range rather than a single model. Judges tested 46 variants of the 20 new models short-listed for the award.

"All four C-Class models presently available for sale in Australia were tested, making it the equal largest range on test this year," Bulmer said.

"It's more difficult for a larger range to win the coveted trophy as all models must excel."

This was the 45th running of Car of the Year.

The 20 nominees for the COTY 2007 were:

Audi A5
BMW M3
BMW X5
Ford Mondeo
Honda Civic
Honda CR-V
Hyundai i30
Land Rover Freelander 2
Lexus LS
Mazda 2
Mercedes-Benz C-Class
Mitsubishi Lancer
Nissan Dualis
Skoda Roomster
Nissan X-Trail
Subaru Impreza
Toyota Corolla
Toyota Kluger
Toyota Landcruiser
Volkswagen Eos