Instead victory and the honour of being called the Car of the Year 2011 went to an electric car for the first time ever in this contest, Nissan's innovative new battery-powered Leaf taking the top slot after a very close battle.

In fact it was one of the closest contests in this competition with three cars from the final shortlist of seven eventually slugging it out together to win the 2011 edition of the most valued prize in the motoring arena, Car of the Year. In the end the Leaf hatchback picked up 257 points while the Giulietta was just nine adrift on 248 points and making it a very tight top three at the conclusion was the new Opel/Vauxhall Meriva mini-MPV, as it was only four points further back (244 points).

The final shortlist of seven cars was whittled down from an initial list of 41 cars by the 58 members drawn from 23 countries that made up this year's jury, the nominees covering all kind of segments in the market. The award requires new cars to available now or soon in five or more European markets, and each to have the prospect of at least 5,000 yearly sales. To determine the winner each member has to allocate a total of 25 points among at least five of the seven nominees, with no more than 10 points being cast for the preferred choice. A written text by the juror justifying the choice has to accompany the submission of the vote. Alfa Romeo last won with the C-segment 147, exactly a decade ago in 2001, while the D-segment Alfa 156 won the award four years before that.