Car of the Year

[Noblemon]

..goes to the Vauxhall Insignia. The Superb came 6th:thumbdwn:

Car Magazine's editor was one of the judges and marked the Superb down for it's "jolty ride" and lack of refinement (wind noise and "gruff" PD engines). The Insignia scored on ride, refinement and cabin quality.

Firstly, I've only test driven a Superb but don't remember being jolted about, even on 18" wheels. The ride was pretty good on all surfaces. There was some wind noise at motorway speeds but not too intrusive and the 170CR is not gruff.

Secondly, when the first reviews started coming in on the Insignia I'm sure it was criticised for, surprise surprise, gruff diesels and patchy cabin quality and the Superb praised for refinement and smooth ride!

I can understand opinions are subjective but how can 2 journos driving the same car come up with opposite assessments on the same issue? Ride can't be jolty and smooth and either the car is quiet or it's not.

[lozgti]

Car of the Year award....thats had some cracking (read weird)winners in the past.Very odd.

As to the Vauxhall,reading Auto Express,I really thought what a bland car.Preferred the Vectras looks.

Saw my first Superb II on Saturday.I thought it looked incredibly classy

[KenONeill]

Given that past ECOTY winners have included the Sunbeam/Talbot Horizon, a variety of 1970s FIATs, and the Porsche 928 (a nice supercar, fails several of their criteria though IIRC)...

I saw a Superb 2 in my Skoda dealer recently; change the badges and I think most people would think it was a BMW 5!

Edited 17 November, 2008 by KenONeill

[Alvaro]

This kind of prizes are the same as the "top ten" of pop music: the winner is the one who pays more . Some years ago, in the late-90's, the spanish edition of this prize (Spanish Car of the Year) went to the Chryler PT Cruiser. A friend of mine, who works at a car magazine, told me that the car was known among the journalists as the "PC Cruiser"... because Chrysler had given a portable computer to each member of the jury :eek:

I also remember when the spanish edition af AutoBild gave its prizes last year: best saloon, best SUV, best convertible, best engine, etc. Only one (1) of the 15 prizes went to a non-german car Hail Hitler ! :P

So let the people order the Insignia instead of the Superb: our Superbs will come earlier from the factory

[steve75]

I had a look round the Superb II on Friday, they had one on the Skoda stand at the MPH show, NEC. Looked like a cracking car to me! obviously i can't comment on ride quality or cabin noise etc as the car was stationary, but looks wise i liked the interior and would be quite happy to spend my time in there.

[veloplus]

Before the winner was announced today I guessed it would be a toss-up between either the Insignia or the Fiesta. I didn't imagine the Insignia would beat the Fiesta by a single point!

At least the Superb II came in a credible 6th place (that is 6th out of the 25 cars selected), so, they should be proud of their achievement. TBH, I think the Superb II deserved at least 3rd place. The MiTo is nothing special, while the Golf Mk6 is duller than ditchwater, although it does benefit from some new engines and 7 speed DSG.

It's a shame the Superb II is not available from launch with the new 2.0Tdi CR 110 engine, rather than the aged 1.9Tdi PD 105 unit.

[SJFISHER67]

I never pay any notice to these things, as they are usually a load of contrived bol locks!

The New Superb is a good car for the fact it won't be as common on the road as the new Vauxhall Insig nificant.

[rapidrs]

Opel Insigna is not great, nice future rep mobile....will look great in a mcdonalds car park or drive thru.....nice and anonomous. At least the Citreon C5 did'nt win. the FIAT Tipo won before.....total junk

[skodanut]

looks like the people who test drive the new superb still have the same " oh no its another skoda " attitude.....and virtually condem it before they actually decide it deserves a better write up........pity they cant be bothered .....ive sat in the elegance model with all the toys and in my opinion its a minature rolls royce.......and another thing what with general motors about to go bust needing to find 7billion a mth it wont be long before all vauxhalls go down the pan with them ^_^

[Lady Elanore]

Most of you guys seem to think the ECOTY is a load of pants, so I wouldn’t get so upset about them not liking the Skoda. If you think it is better than it's position suggests, so be it, you should be able to get a better deal than if Skoda were banging on about being ECOTY, so really you are all winners if you want to buy the new Superb.

[Allams Skoda]

Did they even drive the Superb? How the hell could they possibly believe the Shitroen C5 is a better all round car than the Superb?

They must be insane.

[Duffelcoat]

There are a lot of nut balls out there, the sort of people that:

1) Take notice of car of the year awards instead of doing their own research when spending 20k

2) Still vote on the x-factor and other phone in shows, despite being ripped off in the past and now.

3) Think that rain is fog

4) Think that CO2 is somehow contributing to climate change

5) Think that a Prius is an eco friendly car

6) Think that oil prices are market driven

7) and that the Loch Ness Monster is a real thing and not a tourist marketing campaign

Sorry - I am in a bad mood today!

[Lady Elanore]

There are a lot of nut balls out there, the sort of people that:

1) Take notice of car of the year awards instead of doing their own research when spending 20k

2) Still vote on the x-factor and other phone in shows, despite being ripped off in the past and now.

3) Think that rain is fog

4) Think that CO2 is somehow contributing to climate change

5) Think that a Prius is an eco friendly car

6) Think that oil prices are market driven

7) and that the Loch Ness Monster is a real thing and not a tourist marketing campaign

Sorry - I am in a bad mood today!

Always nice to see a Liberal in our midst:D

[jcblincs]

There are a lot of nut balls out there, the sort of people that:

1) Take notice of car of the year awards instead of doing their own research when spending 20k

2) Still vote on the x-factor and other phone in shows, despite being ripped off in the past and now.

3) Think that rain is fog

4) Think that CO2 is somehow contributing to climate change

5) Think that a Prius is an eco friendly car

6) Think that oil prices are market driven

7) and that the Loch Ness Monster is a real thing and not a tourist marketing campaign

Sorry - I am in a bad mood today!

i am sure you meant this to be a serious post but..

:rofl::rofl:

so funny and so true !!!

thanks for making me smile !!

[jcblincs]

Did they even drive the Superb? How the hell could they possibly believe the Shitroen C5 is a better all round car than the Superb?

They must be insane.

to be fair james the citroen is not half bad (despite the stupid name - i always associate C5 with clive sinclair !!)

we drove it and the build quality was up there with VAG. The seats were really comfy and arefreshing change from the "park bench" hard seats found in many new cars. they even had a massage function on them (ok a gimmick as all it did was move the electric lumbar support in a random fashion but still an interesting toy.

the thing that let it down was the trick suspension (the higher spec models used the hydrogas set up found on many citroens). it was a smooth ride but when taken off the main road onto a B road it made me feel sick. it was like driving a barge. the lower spec cars have standard springs/shocks but the trim and equipment level was poor and seats were awful. the weird steering wheel was odd as well (centre boss stays fixed in position)

there were many things to like about the car but far too many that i didnt. rear legroom was awful and boot was pretty small (on a par with the new A4 for legroom and boot space). i can see why someone might by the C5. its much better than other citroens have been.

[Duffelcoat]

i am sure you meant this to be a serious post but..

:rofl::rofl:

so funny and so true !!!

thanks for making me smile !!

Half of the joke is the truth!

(probably more, but I am in danger of going back into cynical mode!)

[KenONeill]

Firstly, the C5 name should belong to Citroen, and goes back to the 1920s Citation

Secondly, I think you mean "Hydropneumatic", or possibly given the age of the car, "Hydractive" Citation I won't get into arguments about the "best ride" but the Citroen Car Club frequently complain about how hard-riding the later Hydropneumatic cars (post 1998 Xantias, C5 and C6) are! Personally I think the Octavia A4 runs Hydropneumatic close on a broken surface, and outperforms it on big crests.

[Allams Skoda]

I haven't actually driven a C5 for quite a while now, one came in part exchange about 18 months and had lots of fuel in it so I used it for a weekend.

It was an 03 plate V6 top of the range one with EVERYTHING on it, and pretty much EVERYTHING had broken, was breaking, or was on fire.

I actually liked the idea of being able to play with the suspension but it made me feel sick, the satnav didn't know where a lot of towns where and kept suggesting I drove somewhere else.

Although I'm glad I did drive it, if only to reassure myself of the competition.

Sadly I really like the look of the C6 though. In about 6 months time when an ex-demo one is about 80 pence they'll look nice on the back of an AA truck.

[Lady Elanore]

I haven't actually driven a C5 for quite a while now, one came in part exchange about 18 months and had lots of fuel in it so I used it for a weekend.

It was an 03 plate V6 top of the range one with EVERYTHING on it, and pretty much EVERYTHING had broken, was breaking, or was on fire.

I actually liked the idea of being able to play with the suspension but it made me feel sick, the satnav didn't know where a lot of towns where and kept suggesting I drove somewhere else.

Although I'm glad I did drive it, if only to reassure myself of the competition.

Sadly I really like the look of the C6 though. In about 6 months time when an ex-demo one is about 80 pence they'll look nice on the back of an AA truck.

Surely it wasn’t as bad as a Freelander though:D

[KenONeill]

Ref Allams #18:-

The comments about the electrickery (well other than the satnav) pretty much agree with the CCC (qv) comments too. There are times when I'm pleased I decided not to buy a car I couldn't see the bonnet of!

[lozgti]

I'd have a DS but nothing else.

Think its because I like subtitled French films.

Anyway,OT.COTY I don't pay attention to.I suppose I am more swayed by What Car mag and my own prejudices when buying cars .

[Captain Sisko]

What!!! Nessie isnt a real monster!!!!

[anewman]

Aren't these "reviews" and "awards" sometimes more about the amounts of money changing hands - than a genuine impartial opinion of the car?!

[jcblincs]

I haven't actually driven a C5 for quite a while now, one came in part exchange about 18 months and had lots of fuel in it so I used it for a weekend.

It was an 03 plate V6 top of the range one with EVERYTHING on it, and pretty much EVERYTHING had broken, was breaking, or was on fire.

I actually liked the idea of being able to play with the suspension but it made me feel sick, the satnav didn't know where a lot of towns where and kept suggesting I drove somewhere else.

Although I'm glad I did drive it, if only to reassure myself of the competition.

Sadly I really like the look of the C6 though. In about 6 months time when an ex-demo one is about 80 pence they'll look nice on the back of an AA truck.

so cynical for one so young !!!:)

the new shape C5 launched this year is much better than the old one but still made me feel sick !!

[Dr Zoidberg]

Did they even drive the Superb? How the hell could they possibly believe the Shitroen C5 is a better all round car than the Superb?

They must be insane.

Why?

What do you think is wrong with the C5?

It's a vast improvement over the old model.