A total of 86 cars from over 35 models and 24 brands will be evaluated.
by Xavier Pérez (Prensa Ibérica / Spain)
The Tannishus Hotel in Bindslev / Tannisby, in North Jutland (Denmark), hosts Europe’s largest car test every year. This year, the event will be attended by 30 European judges from 23 of the 25 member countries, making it the largest independent test of cars in the running for The Car of the Year award.
Denmark will draw up the full shortlist of eligible vehicles for the final of seven cars, to be announced next 30 October. The winner will be announced at the Brussels Motor Show in the first week of January.
The Tannistest is a large-scale test in which, halfway through the year’s new model launches, manufacturers present their best models in the hope of claiming the title, which in the 2026 edition was won by the Mercedes-Benz CLA. Organised for the past 48 years by the Nordic Group judges for The Car of the Year, the contenders are put through their paces by specialist journalists.
The cars taking part in this year’s event – more than 80 in total – arrived on Friday 18 September, and the judges had the opportunity to begin testing on Saturday.
Over the five days of testing, the motoring journalists who make up the select panel of judges for The Car of the Year analyse the details and put the performance of each vehicle through its paces.
Alongside the tests, the judges can exchange views with representatives from the participating brands, who send their engineers, marketing managers and some CEO to the Tannistest, ready to answer any questions that may arise.
A total of 86 cars from over 35 models and 24 brands will be evaluated. The tests will take place this week, both on the roads in the area between the bunkers at Skajen and the Rubjerg lighthouse, and the beaches at Tornby, Kjul and Tversted. In this part of Denmark, driving on the beach is permitted, although the speed limit is 30 km/h.
The list of models available to test drive at this year’s event includes:
Audi A2 e-tron, BMW iX3, BYD Dolphin G, Changan Deepal S05, Cupra Raval, DS No.7, GAC Aion UT, Honda Prelude, Hyundai Ioniq 3, Kia EV2, Kia EV5, Leapmotor B05, Lexus ES, Mazda CX-5, Mazda CX-6e, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Mercedes-Benz GLB, Mercedes-Benz GLC, Mercedes-Benz VLE, MG IM5, MG IM6, MG MG4 Urban, MG MGS6, Polestar 5, Porsche Cayenne, Renault Clio, Renault Twingo, Škoda Epiq, Toyota RAV4, Volvo EX60, VW ID. Cross, VW ID. Polo, VW T-Roc, Xpeng L03, Xpeng P7+, and Zeekr 7GT