Drive.com.au - Car of the Year '08

[balthazarr]

http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/Mi...&MiniSiteID=12

The overall winner: Honda Accord V6
Fords: Ford Mondeo LX (Best medium car)
Holdens: Holden SS Ute (Best ute)

Interesting list... don't necessarily agree with all of the choices... but interesting.

[DoreSlamR]

Best Performance Car under $60,000 VW Golf GTI???

It beat the Falcon XR6 Turbo and the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo?



That's......interesting... :

[vztrt]

Reading the article I can understand why the Accord won.

Unfortunatly cheapo tyres, no side curtian airbags seem to have stuffed it.

The commo V6 got a flogging and it was admitted that it drank more petrol then all the other models.

The Aurion while having a good engine (for straight line speed), it couldn't handle the power it had.

Unfortunatly if Ford hadn't have skimped on the tyres it could have piffed the Accord....which was DCOTY.

[TZENU]

The judges make no mention of the performance of the utes (SS & XR6) because it obviously doesn't cover the criteria, else they would have used the T or XR8, which i would have thought would draw a much fairer and most probably a different conclusion.. maybe?

i was under the assumption that a leaf-sprung rear end would have a greater payload than a similarly equipped IRS model??? Did i miss something?

[FalconXR6]

I wouldn't (and don't) put too much stock into Drive, Carsguide, etc COTY's.

They're all spastic and don't seem to make much sense at all..

[balthazarr]

Originally Posted by FalconXR6

I wouldn't (and don't) put too much stock into Drive, Carsguide, etc COTY's.

They're all spastic and don't seem to make much sense at all..

I agree that little to no weighting should be placed on these 'of the year' lists... but the reality is that average joe is likely to at least consider these lists when deciding on their next purchase.

[Bucknaked]

I'm sure if Ford won every category, there would be nothing but praise for these awards

[vztrt]

What I would be more worried about is if they see, oh that car won and leave it at that and not read the article.

[balthazarr]

Originally Posted by TXR

I'm sure if Ford won every category, there would be nothing but praise for these awards

Nope... and I wasn't talking about just the car lists... any of them: 'gadget of the year', 'best mobile phone of the year' etc. etc.

I generally place very little value on 'professional' or 'critical' review - I usually disagree with the reviewer's opinion, or they'll skim over an aspect that I consider critical.

[MRJUCY]

They talk up the Honda's fuel economy & safety against Falcon's yet the Falcon has a 5 star rating which the Accord doesn't & while the Accord beats Falcon by a barely measurable 1mililitre per kilometer real world testing has often shown the Falcon to be more economical.

[vanman_75]

i hate lists !

[csv8]

From the DRIVE report :
Perhaps the only other big upset apart from the overall winner, though, is the Ford Mondeo. It knocked off two very strong rivals that were new this year: the Honda Accord Euro and Mazda6. In the end, the Mondeo’s price, safety, equipment and space edged out the Japanese pairing.

It may be a small consolation for Ford, which no doubt would have held high hopes for the Falcon. But the Mondeo had many of us asking: why buy a Falcon when the Mondeo is so good?

My comment : But neither are selling as well as FORD would like. Mondeo sales figures aren't good, nor are is the Falcons sales figures. Still don't see many on the road. See more Sportswagons than either of these Fords.

[icejagans]

but mondeo is not value for money when comparing base model mazda6 to mondeo lx. the mazda starts at $27,990 as oppose to the ford's $29,990.
i don't get it.

[Auslandau]

Originally Posted by csv8

From the DRIVE report :
............... But the Mondeo had many of us asking: why buy a Falcon when the Mondeo is so good?

OR ............... Why buy a Mondeo when the Falcon is so good?



| [/url] |

[Sprint347]

Originally Posted by TXR

I'm sure if Ford won every category, there would be nothing but praise for these awards

Funny that!

[MONSOON]

not everybody wants an underpowered FWD car, which the 2.3l mondeo is, it might be a good car, better built than a falcon? probably, but it is too big & too heavy for its engines & it's competition

[uranium_death]

A similar test was conducted months ago where the FG only just came out on top of the Accord.

Ultimately, they're both good cars as certain people look for different things in a car.

As long as Ford is recognised in positive areas and its flaws (such as its sub-standard tyres) are fairly articulated, then I think it's fine.

I think it's a fair result.

[Wretched]

Originally Posted by MONSOON

not everybody wants an underpowered FWD car, which the 2.3l mondeo is, it might be a good car, better built than a falcon? probably, but it is too big & too heavy for its engines & it's competition

Obviously most of the buying public don't care about big powered RWD sedans either.

[Quicksand]

Originally Posted by vanman_75

i hate lists !

Me too!! And here is 3 reasons why...

[Silver Ghia]

IMO there is a big flaw in the Drive judging system when they take the cheapest version of each car considered.

They took the XT and judged it against higher appointed and dearer Accord and Aurion models. No mention of prices in the articles. No wonder the FG had no chance.

And criticise the XR6T brakes because they wouldnt stand up to track work? Its everyday driving that should matter here. If one takes it on the track, they would upgrade the brakes anyway.

And it seems the flagship G6ET wasnt even considered in the judging.

[GTP290]

They compared the SS ute against the standard xr6 ute? Why didnt they compare it to the xr6t ute? THats like comparing the xr8 ute to the sv6 Holden ute, are they serious?

[uranium_death]

Originally Posted by GTP290

They compared the SS ute against the standard xr6 ute? Why didnt they compare it to the xr6t ute? THats like comparing the xr8 ute to the sv6 Holden ute, are they serious?

I love agendas.

[Dr_Hoon]

The ute test was nonsense. From the last paragraph:

In the end, it was the Commodore ute’s breath of ability – being able to carry a bigger load than the equivalent Falcon and yet drive with the luxury of sedan – that earned the Commodore SS ute a unanimous win among the judges for the second year in a row.

They are not equivalent. WTF?

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by GTP290

They compared the SS ute against the standard xr6 ute? Why didnt they compare it to the xr6t ute? THats like comparing the xr8 ute to the sv6 Holden ute, are they serious?

Or the SV6 to the XLS, I mean its not fair for the SV6.

[GS608]

what i don't get is why the SS? its the most expensive ute, yet the XR6 is the 3rd most expensive from Ford, so it couldn't have been a price thing.

XR6 is $35k and the SS is $45k huge difference there