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2008 European Car of the Year finalists announced

2008 European Car of the Year finalists announced

James Martinez October 6th, 2007 James Martinez By James Martinez Author October 6th, 2007
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December 31st, 1969 A couple of months ago we reported on the European Car of the Year award, which is run by a panel of journalists from various publications across the continent. Having filtered through the initial 32 contenders, the final seven most impressive cars of the year have finally been announced. Making the cut are the Fiat 500, Ford Mondeo, Kia cee'd, Mazda 2, Mercedes C-class, Nissan Qashqai, and the Peugeot 308. All these models are new or have been heavily redesigned in the past 12 months and all represent the ‘best of breed’ in their segment, whether it be the cute and curvy Fiat 500 or the popular C-class luxury saloon. Last year’s winner was the Ford S-Max, while the Renault Clio got the award in 2006, the Toyota Prius in 2005, Fiat Panda in 2004, or the Renault Megane in 2003. We initially predicted the Mazda 2 or the Ford Mondeo would take the gong and that hasn’t changed. Both cars have been getting rave reviews in the European press so we expect a closely fought title. The winner will be announced on November 19th.
2008 European Car of the Year finalists announced

2008 European Car of the Year finalists announced

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A couple of months ago we reported on the European Car of the Year award, which is run by a panel of journalists from various publications across the continent. Having filtered through the initial 32 contenders, the final seven most impressive cars of the year have finally been announced.

Making the cut are the Fiat 500, Ford Mondeo, Kia cee'd, Mazda 2, Mercedes C-class, Nissan Qashqai, and the Peugeot 308. All these models are new or have been heavily redesigned in the past 12 months and all represent the ‘best of breed’ in their segment, whether it be the cute and curvy Fiat 500 or the popular C-class luxury saloon.

Last year’s winner was the Ford S-Max, while the Renault Clio got the award in 2006, the Toyota Prius in 2005, Fiat Panda in 2004, or the Renault Megane in 2003. We initially predicted the Mazda 2 or the Ford Mondeo would take the gong and that hasn’t changed. Both cars have been getting rave reviews in the European press so we expect a closely fought title. The winner will be announced on November 19th.

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Comments (8 total)

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  1. By Gus #1, Posted: 10/6/2007

    Great. And all we get is the C-class.
    Why can't we at least get the Mondeo? It's a decent sized car (if you want to make the argument that Americans generally prefer larger cars than the Europeans, which is probably true) and should sell well here. I could totally see this as a competitor for the Accord, Camry, etc. etc. It would really boost Ford's name here.
    Oh well...

  2. By Kinan #2, Posted: 10/7/2007

    In my opinion, I think the funny 500 deserve win this award, because of its option and cute design, and it's a special car not a normal one like The Mondeo or The Mazda 2.

  3. By Jezza #3, Posted: 10/7/2007

    Kinan, you are right. The 500 is cute and well designed, but underneath is it just a Fiat Panda. In terms of being all new designs and really pushing the envelope of the segment the artile writers are correct in picking the Mondeo or Mazda 2.

    BTW I recently drove the new C-class. It\'s ok, but hasn\'t really pushed the segment. I think Merc is going to lose a lot of sales to other companies.

  4. By Leo Borella #4, Posted: 10/8/2007

    I'm hoping for the Fiat 500. It's just so special, none of the other cars have such character or make you feel as good as you do when you're driving the 500. And 5 star Euro NCAP for a car that size is trully amazing. Go Fiat!

  5. By NaBUru38 #5, Posted: 10/9/2007

    The Qashqai, C-Class and 308 are good cars but not much revolutionary.. The Ceed is really European in quality and design, but I think judges will wait for another Korean model (let's say the future Hyundai i20) to give them the prize. The impact of awarding Mazda 2 would be as limited as Mazda's presence in Europe. So I think the next ECotY will be either the Mondeo or the Fiat 500, probably the latter because of the size difference.

  6. By kingd #6, Posted: 10/10/2007

    I think Kia Ceed is the best. It is reasonable priced and good quality. The warranty is huge advantage!

  7. By Balkan Bioy #7, Posted: 10/10/2007

    500's a clear winner this year....

  8. By Balkan Boy #8, Posted: 10/10/2007

    500's clear winner this year...

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