These are the finalists for the 2016 Green Car of the Year award

NO DIESELS MADE THE CUT — AND THEY’RE NOT ALL HYBRIDS

Green Car Journal recently announced the finalists for its 2016 Green Car of the Year award. Strangely enough, no diesels made the cut, but it’s not all hybrids, either: The gas-powered Honda Civic and Hyundai Sonata are in the running. Naturally, the three other contenders are the major names that always come up in green car discussions: the Chevy Volt, the Audi A3 E-Tron and the Toyota Prius. (Read our takes on the four of the five finalists below.)

To arrive at this set of finalists, the editors over at the Green Car Journal looked at all vehicles on the market, no matter the fuel source or onboard tech, and boiled that list down to the five that we currently have. The vetting process was based on fuel efficiency, EPA and CARB certification, plus performance and affordability.

Also, availability and accessibility to real consumers was considered, so both limited-market EVs and super-expensive vehicles like the Tesla Model S were eliminated (though we wonder why the Ford Focus electric didn’t make the cut).

The Green Car of the Year competition has been going for a decade — the first award was dished out at the 2005 LA Auto Show. In keeping with that tradition, we’ll have to wait to report on the winner until the end of November. So be sure to check back to see our coverage of the LA Auto Show and to see which car is worthy of being called the greenest car of the year.