Mass Market Car of the Year 2008 [Voting]

[fisetdavid26]

Right, it was a pain to read all the threads and count all the nominations, especially considering members are usually VERY unclear on their true stance, and nominating 50 cars at once didn't quite help. Please be comprehensive. Also, there were a lot of ties. That's why the region-based voting is über biased.

There will be a new COTY formula for next year, my experiment didn't work. At least I tried.

[Rockefella]

Right, it was a pain to read all the threads and count all the nominations, especially considering members are usually VERY unclear on their true stance, and nominating 50 cars at once didn't quite help. Please be comprehensive. Also, there were a lot of ties. That's why the region-based voting is über biased.

There will be a new COTY formula for next year, my experiment didn't work. At least I tried.

The multi-vote problem is pretty large every year. This year I thought I'd let it slide again but it gets annoying come polls. Next year should be a STRICTLY enforced 1 nomination per person rule.

[f6fhellcat13]

I clicked FG Falcon but I meant VE Sportswagon.
Could somebody change it, por favor?

EDIT: v Thanks man. v

[fisetdavid26]

I clicked FG Falcon but I meant VE Sportswagon.
Could somebody change it, por favor?

Yeah.

[Ferrer]

David you already know my opinion on the matter. Will vote later, I'm far too drunk and tired to vote now.

[Ferrer]

Ok so here we go. I'll make a comment on all candidates.

Cadillac CTS. This is a good car, it's a certain sign that the Americans seem to have discovered at last how to make a good premium saloon. However it's not truly groundbreaking like its predecessor was. That was one of the greatest surprises when it came out. The current one just improves on the formula. It also has a bit of a weight problem. So in the end good car but not COTY material.

Chevrolet Cobalt SS. This is a fast car and little else by the looks of things. It's not groundbreaking or different or employs some sort of unknown innovation. It's just a hot hatch. From people who don't like them. So I'm sorry but no.

Dodge Challenger. I like the Challanger, it represents everything America used to do really well. Fast, good looking and cheap. And I'm sure that in the US it works perfectly. But as a car? I think they've missed on a few aspects. For a start it's way too big, which in turn means it's seriously overweight.

Tata Nano. Now, this is the first serious candidate. This car it's back to basics, cheap simple motoring for the masses, the Model T of the 21st century. So for that alone it'd be a deserving winner. It's not especially high tech or fast or luxurious but takes motoring to a whole new level. It's still a bit of an unknown quantity at the moment though.

Mazda 6. Another good car that continues with trend Mazda started with the 2. This new 6 is actually lighter than the old one which benefits everything. However the rest of the car is a bit pedestrian with no modern direct injected turbocharged engines or clever gearboxes. It's been said to handle well though.

Toyota iQ. Definitely one of my favourites. Like the Nano which I reviewed early it does what every COTY should do, it pushes the outside of the envelope. This is a very cleverly packaged city car which seats four in less than 3 metres and has a 6 speed gearbox in the 1.3 litre version. Makes a Smart look positively stupid.

Toyota Corolla. Why is this car nominated at all? It simply has no interest or redeeming features. It's the absolute opposite of what the iQ is. Interesting that both come from the same company.

Honda S2000. Far too long in the tooth to be considered worthy of a COTY award. The engine is clever and the car is well built but it has somewhat gotten a bit tiresome. Time to rethink Honda.

Mazda CX-7. This is Mazda's SUV. It tries to be like a sort of a 6 MPS estate but fails. I'm sorry but SUVs can't be COTYs. They try to be all-rounders and end up failing at everything. They aren't as fast or handle as well as a car, aren't as practical as a people carrier and aren't as good at handling the tough stuff as a proper off roader. So basically fail at all levels.

Ford Falcon. Again, another case of a good car but no COTY here. The Falcon (and the Commodore) is the quintessential Australian family saloon which has been on sale since the 60's. It may have been improved but there's nothing that makes me think it could be a COTY.

Holden Commodore Sportwagon. As per the Falcon, improved and I'm sure it's a very good car but no outstanding characteristic makes me think this would be a deserving COTY winner. It looks very good too.

Fiat 500 Abarth Esseesse. Lovely car, I certainly wouldn't mind having one at all. But it's like the Cobalt just a hot hatch it doesn't use nothing that hasn't been used before and although the results may arguably be superb it's not innovative in any way. Even the styling is from the 50's.

BMW 1 Series. This is a superb car. It handles beautifully, goes fast and it uses little fuel. It may be cramped and a bit expensive and the styling is debatable but for the petrolhead this is certainly the best family hatchback bar none. The efficientDynamics stuff is clever too. But it can't be considered a COTY, since the drawbacks are too strong to ignore.

BMW 3 Series. This is not only a superb car but the benchmark too. The BMW 3 Series used to be the best sports saloon on the market and it still is. It's like a bigger version of the 1er, and that can only be good. Again, it’s a combination of existing elements nothing really new or surprising.

Alfa Romeo Mi.To The Mi.To is the entrance of Alfa Romeo to a whole new segment, premium superminis. But behind the nice if a bit bulbous bodywork this is nothing more than a fancy Fiat Punto. No COTY here and arguably clearly surpassed by its rivals in some aspects.

So my vote goes to the Toyota iQ. It was a close call with the Tata Nano. But the Nano is still too much of an unknown quantity at this point, so maybe next year…

[cmcpokey]

Mazda CX-7. This is Mazda's SUV. It tries to be like a sort of a 6 MPS estate but fails. I'm sorry but SUVs can't be COTYs. They try to be all-rounders and end up failing at everything. They aren't as fast or handle as well as a car, aren't as practical as a people carrier and aren't as good at handling the tough stuff as a proper off roader. So basically fail at all levels.

while i don't disagree with you on all points of your post, i would like to defend against your argument against the CX-7 for a minute. I am an owner of a CX-7 (well my wife is) and i think you have missed the point. no, its not as fast, or handles as well as a regular car, but this handles better than any other SUV i have been in. The steering is brilliant, the suspension is firm and holds the road, and its engine is plenty strong while still getting decent gas mileage.

as a people carrier it is comparable to a saloon, holding 5 comfortably. its not a 7 seater, have to step up to the CX-9 for that, but it will hold 5 and their baggage.

ours is awd, and while i cant take it rock crawling, it is competent when it gets slippery. over thee holiday we took it, and her father and brother, and all of our ski/snowboard equipment, up to tahoe in 6'' of snow. it did admirably. and we were thankful we didnt take my father-in-law's A4 since it wouldnt have had the clearance.

so while you are right that it doesnt do anything better than anything else. but it does do them all. very well. and better than the average driver woudl ever use. i didn't vote for it for COTY for the same reason you didn't, but i also think it has moved the SUV game on a bit. it has taken the small attractive sporty SUV segment into a lower pricepoint. having essentially the same impact as the X5 but for the masses.

[Ferrer]

while i don't disagree with you on all points of your post, i would like to defend against your argument against the CX-7 for a minute. I am an owner of a CX-7 (well my wife is) and i think you have missed the point. no, its not as fast, or handles as well as a regular car, but this handles better than any other SUV i have been in. The steering is brilliant, the suspension is firm and holds the road, and its engine is plenty strong while still getting decent gas mileage.

as a people carrier it is comparable to a saloon, holding 5 comfortably. its not a 7 seater, have to step up to the CX-9 for that, but it will hold 5 and their baggage.

ours is awd, and while i cant take it rock crawling, it is competent when it gets slippery. over thee holiday we took it, and her father and brother, and all of our ski/snowboard equipment, up to tahoe in 6'' of snow. it did admirably. and we were thankful we didnt take my father-in-law's A4 since it wouldnt have had the clearance.

so while you are right that it doesnt do anything better than anything else. but it does do them all. very well. and better than the average driver woudl ever use. i didn't vote for it for COTY for the same reason you didn't, but i also think it has moved the SUV game on a bit. it has taken the small attractive sporty SUV segment into a lower pricepoint. having essentially the same impact as the X5 but for the masses.

Well despite that I can't still se the point of an SUV.

I mean you say the CX-7 is a good car, and I don't deny it. But imagine if Mazda had put the same effort in a car. It would've been even better. Because no matter how good an SUV is you'll still have that high centre of gravity and that extra weight. It's a bit like trying to fight with an arm tied in the back, you may be good but you'd be even better if you had both hands.

As for bad conditions I think that good tires are more important than having four wheel drive or ground clearance (except if the going gets really tough, but then there's the point of a proper off roader). We rented a front wheel drive Volvo S80 with studded tires many years ago when we attended the Swedish Rally and it managed alright.

The thing is I can't quite see the point of an SUV.