2007 Wheels Car of the Year

[motorsportnerd]

The 2007 Wheels Car of the Year will be announced on Australian television tonight. Wheels' has just put the six finalists on to their website: Wheels - Wheels Car of the Year - finalists revealed!.

So, what will win? BMW M3, Ford Mondeo, Mazda2, Mercedes C-Class, Skoda Roomster or VW Eos? I'm a little bit surprised to see the Eos make it that far.
I'm still tipping Mazda2 - though those that know me will know which car I'd like to see win.

[IBrake4Rainbows]

Wow. M3 AND Eos?

Out of that list, I'll give the C-Class the Nod. Same Tech as an S-Class, but without the exorbitant price tag? done and done.

Perhaps the Biggest surprise is the Roomster. It's a slow year if.....Well, WTF is it.....gets into the Top 6.

[motorsportnerd]

Yes - it was a slow year. No real genuine advance in any of those cars. I expected the Lancer and Hyundai i30 to be knocking on the door. Both actually bring decent advances to their class. The Lancer brings standard ESP to the small-medium class. The Hyundai a decent diesel at an affordable price to the same class.
Mazda2 suffers on safety front - ESP is not standard in the base models and only dual airbag. I think it will still win due to its all round value and driveability.
M3 and Eos are niche. Though M3 may well sneak into the win.
Roomster is just strange. Perhaps it got there on packaging.

I'll be surprised if the Eos or Roomster win - not very surprised with any of the others. The unexpected (like a Roomster win) doesn't usually happen with these awards, but you can just never tell.

[motorsportnerd]

Out of that list, I'll give the C-Class the Nod. Same Tech as an S-Class, but without the exorbitant price tag? done and done.

Despite the fact that most comparisons put the equivilent BMW 3-series ahead of it? The 3-series hasn't won the Wheels COTY (yet - unless the M3 wins tonight) - so I'm not sure I see the C-Class winning. Or if it does, it really does show how lacklustre 2007 was for new models - as it means that the better car in class (the 3-series) came up against tougher opposition in the years it was up for the award.

[IBrake4Rainbows]

The C-Class actually beat the equivalent 3 series on Points in the latest wheels comparison. While not a better drive, it is better packaged, better equipped and better made than it' Bavarian counterpart. Couple that to the fact it's actually not that worse of a drive, and significantly better looking, and we might have a winner.

Mercedes' have won in the past - and they've been significantly more expensive than the C-Class. I'll put my money on that.

[fpv_gtho]

I'm still hoping the Mondeo wins it, but Ford could do with a slap in the face for their dodgy model scheme. If they'd made the 2.5T and 2L TDCI as engine options rather than spinning models around them. Given the current climate, the Mazda2 will probably be looked up more favourably.

[SlickHolden]

M3 is there anything else..

I30 looks good.

[Monty_Burns]

not the greatest bunch of finalists in history...the M3 and C-Class are too expensive, the Eos is too niche...give it to the Mondeo or the Mazda 2...genuinely good, affordable transport for the everyman

[motorsportnerd]

Mercedes' have won in the past - and they've been significantly more expensive than the C-Class. I'll put my money on that.

You should have put money on it. Just announced, Mercedes C-Class is the 2007 Wheels Car of the Year.

[IBrake4Rainbows]

Told you so.

[clutch-monkey]

wow, unexpected for me. but then as you guys say, the finalists weren't...stellar.
me, i would have given it to the Mazda 2, for being the first mainstream/economy car in years to reduce it's wieght over the previous model to help efficiency

[motorsportnerd]

That's a very good point.
I didn't mention the Mondeo in my thoughts above - partly because I wanted it to win and partly because I knew it wouldn't. And the reason? No problems on value, safety or dynamics - it would have done well on all those fronts. Its problem would have been against utilisation of of resources. I mean - it is a very heavy car. Over 1,600kg. And I have no doubt that it needs the turbo-diesel or the 2.5 turbo engines to offer decent performance. I strongly suspect that the 2.3 would be under-whelming, given that it has less power than a Mazda6 and much more weight. It would probably have struggled against the design criteria as well.

Weight savings are going to become critical in coming years as petrol and diesel prices get ever more expensive. With modern technology there is no reason why a car can't be both light weight and offer 5-star safety.

[motorsportnerd]

With the C-Class win, its worth noting two things. First - the Mercedes C-Class is the first car to ever win the Wheels Car of the Year which has optional turbo-diesel engines for the Australian market.
Second, it firms my thoughts that Wheels doesn't like front wheel drive cars very much. There were only three rear wheel drive cars eligible this year (BMW M3, Lexus LS, Mercedes C-Class), and two of them made the top six. The last time a FWD car won was in 2001 when the Barina won the award. Historically, FWD cars have not done well in the award. No surprise really, since Wheels places an emphasis on sporty dynamics and that does tend to be more the domain of RWD cars.

[#3 Tasman Bloke]

Although there is the matter of price to consider, I still think the M3 will win it. It (apparetly, don't ask me I'm only 14) is a great drive and brings new V8 techno to the world.

[motorsportnerd]

The M3 finished outside the top three. Top three were: Mercedes C-Class, Mondeo and Mazda2.