Here's Motor Trend's COTY criteria:
In the final phase of Car of the Year,
Motor Trend judges debate and evaluate each vehicle against the awards six key criteria:
Design Advancement - well-executed exterior and interior styling; innovative vehicle packaging; good selection and use of materials.
Engineering Excellence - total vehicle concept and execution; clever solutions to packaging, manufacturing and dynamics issues; cost-effective tech that benefits the consumer.
Efficiency - low fuel consumption and carbon footprint, relative to the vehicle's competitive set.
Safety - a vehicle's ability to help the driver avoid a crash, as well as the secondary safety measures that protect its occupants from harm during a crash.
Value - competitive price and equipment levels, measured against those of vehicles in the same market segment.
Performance of Intended Function - how well the vehicle does the job its planners, designers, and engineers intended it to do.
strangely, this was in the Wikipedia article, but the source was a 2013 Cadillac press release.. but Motor Trend does mention this in a current article:
Every step of the way we remind ourselves of our competition’s six foundational criteria: Advancement in Design, Engineering Excellence, Performance of Intended Function, Efficiency, Safety, and Value. (
source)
Based on the 6 criteria, I feel the Model 3 has a good shot at the title versus the other finalists.