The revered title of 'Car of the Year' has been given out in Europe since 1964. At the beginning there 26 journalists from nine countries who picked the winner, and now the panel has grown to 60 men and women from 23 countries.

In 2018 the honour has gone to Volvo and its XC40 small SUV, which would have been a safe bet ahead of the announcement. Of course, there have been some surprises in the last five decades, as our look back reveals. 

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