Hello all,

 

Today the Octavia was elected car of the year in Denmark:

 

1. Skoda Octavia 144 point

 

2. Mazda 3 130 point

 

3. Peugeot 308 129 point

 

4. Citroën C4 Picasso 100 point

 

5. VW Golf 97 point

 

I guess this is one step to the European car of the year title!

 

Have a nice day!

I was impressed, until I saw the Picasso snuck in at number 4.....

Are you short of choice in Denmark?

 

Im not knocking the octavia decision but Peugeot 308 at number 3? Must be some parallel universe.

The Mk 3 Octavia is a fine car, but not a revolutionary one, merely a continued refinement, development and improvement of an already excellent car which has previously won well-deserved awards.

So not sure if this really justifies a 'Car of the Year' award, however good it may be - unless the competiton is really dull!

What do you think is missing?

 

There aren't any guidelines for that competition, other than it has to be a new car model! The importer can choose to add their car to the competition or not and 5 finalists are chosen from a completely subjective vote from members of the board and/or the public (I'm actually not entirely sure how the finalists are chosen ..). The final votes are also given on a completely subjective basis. From what I've read I honestly think the Octavia won due to being most journalists 2nd car! I.E. Someone who prefers the 308 or C4 Picasso would have Mazda 3 last and vice versa.

 

Last year UP!/Mii/CitiGo split the win

 

Only 30 cars were actually entered into the competition:

http://www.fdm.dk/nyheder/30-nyheder-kaemper-om-car-year

 

Taxes on cars in Denmark are crazy! We have 105% of the cars value up to 79,000 DKK (9037.52GBP) and 180% (!!!) after that. I believe there is some sort of discount depending how economic the car is, but it's insignificant.

So while a CitiGo can be bought for as little as 9000 GBP bigger cars get expensive really fast! For this reason there are much fewer models to choose from.

 

Examples:

Octavia H/B 1.2TSI Manual Active (S-trim): GBP 22756,05

RS Combi with DSG (Petrol / Diesel, same price): GBP 50772,29 

 

EVs are exempt from taxes, so we should all be driving Leafs (or Tesla's!) but for some reason they aren't that popular yet. I think partly because the imports are using the tax system as an excuse to earn a premium on EVs. You'd be hard pressed to even find a dealer with a Leaf in the show room!

 

 

Are you short of choice in Denmark?

 

Im not knocking the octavia decision but Peugeot 308 at number 3? Must be some parallel universe.

 

It is! and my username gives an indication on how it feels living in it... Just read the post of RNPhoto and you will understand.

What do you think is missing?

 

There aren't any guidelines for that competition, other than it has to be a new car model! The importer can choose to add their car to the competition or not and 5 finalists are chosen from a completely subjective vote from members of the board and/or the public (I'm actually not entirely sure how the finalists are chosen ..). The final votes are also given on a completely subjective basis. From what I've read I honestly think the Octavia won due to being most journalists 2nd car! I.E. Someone who prefers the 308 or C4 Picasso would have Mazda 3 last and vice versa.

 

Last year UP!/Mii/CitiGo split the win

 

Only 30 cars were actually entered into the competition:

http://www.fdm.dk/nyheder/30-nyheder-kaemper-om-car-year

 

Taxes on cars in Denmark are crazy! We have 105% of the cars value up to 79,000 DKK (9037.52GBP) and 180% (!!!) after that. I believe there is some sort of discount depending how economic the car is, but it's insignificant.

So while a CitiGo can be bought for as little as 9000 GBP bigger cars get expensive really fast! For this reason there are much fewer models to choose from.

 

Examples:

Octavia H/B 1.2TSI Manual Active (S-trim): GBP 22756,05

RS Combi with DSG (Petrol / Diesel, same price): GBP 50772,29 

 

EVs are exempt from taxes, so we should all be driving Leafs (or Tesla's!) but for some reason they aren't that popular yet. I think partly because the imports are using the tax system as an excuse to earn a premium on EVs. You'd be hard pressed to even find a dealer with a Leaf in the show room!

 

Denmark has a distorted market due to its stunning import taxes.  These were based on value and engine size but could double the price of the car compared to its import price.

 

The Skoda probably does extra well as it is such good value to start with and not valued in Euros at import.

 

Like most users of this site they will see you get 20% or so more car for 20% less money compared to the Golf which is Europe's best selling family car despite the UK's love of the Ford Focus (made in mainland Europe and not UK any more).

 

Best car from the best manufacturer ie VW, no surprise except it does not win in more place but at least Emergency services, police etc know how good it is and what good value it is and it is gradually seen as a mainstream brand and not a funny little Eastern car maker.

A few comments:

Denmark has a distorted market due to its stunning import taxes.  These were based on value and engine size(1) but could double(2) the price of the car compared to its import price.

 

The Skoda probably does extra well as it is such good value to start with and not valued in Euros at import.

 

Like most users of this site they will see you get 20% or so more car for 20% less money(3) compared to the Golf which is Europe's best selling family car despite the UK's love of the Ford Focus (made in mainland Europe and not UK any more).

 

Best car from the best manufacturer ie VW, no surprise except it does not win in more place but at least Emergency services, police etc know how good it is and what good value it is and it is gradually seen as a mainstream brand and not a funny little Eastern car maker.

1) Engine size has little to do with it, this only effects the taxes through the MPGs. And even then it's an insignificant amount. The baseline Mazda 6 cost DKK 300,000 (GBP 34256.40)

2) "Double" is actually the baseline! For each 100 kr added to the import value past 79000, price on the road goes up 280kr. Some optional equipment can be added to the final price as if it was retrofitted though. The prices I've quoted above are for our versions. They aren't actually as well equipped as the British versions. Fx we don't even get the Bolero radio as standard in Elegance trim (but then again, heated seats are standard from S trim ...)

3) Uhmm .. was going to state the price difference is more than 20% due to the uneven taxes but:

Octavia Combi 1.4TSI DSG Elegance: DKK 309.000

Golf Variant 1.4TSI DSG Highline: DKK 365.994

So you're right, 20% more!

Anyone want to venture a guess what a Mercedes CLK costs here? Or an Audi RS6

The Mk 3 Octavia is a fine car, but not a revolutionary one, merely a continued refinement, development and improvement of an already excellent car which has previously won well-deserved awards.

So not sure if this really justifies a 'Car of the Year' award, however good it may be - unless the competiton is really dull!

GTA 5 is an iteration with refinement after refinement for video games, hasn't stopped it from being one of the most accomplished games of all time. So iteration can be acknowledged / rewarded. I hadn't owned a VAG group car since I was a student with a MK1 polo and MK1 golf driver, and I this car alone pulled me back and I'm very impressed, even if it's understated. The old MK2 cav won award after award and it was pretty conservative in it's time too. However, I think the competition this year is pretty dull too!

And then we have the 25% VAT on extra equipment like DSG, Canton and all that.

In general it just means that Danes rides smallers cars, thus the Car of the Year looks a bit odd for outsiders.