It appears the reason they ditched the GTR is because they considered the ride too harsh, the twin clutch gearbox to be not smooth enough at low speeds and the rear seat unusable. They also had complaints about it's 1700kg weight.

I think those comments are unreasonable, personally. They were prepared to condone the Prius' unremarkable dynamics because it was 'good for it's class'

I'd wager that the "class" of person who buys a GTR isn't a softcock who needs a facial and manicure every second day, and who wouldn't even register these so called "shortcomings"

Having said that I don't have an issue with the Golf winning, (based on Wheels selection criteria) but the GTR should have been in the final four.