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The stylish, luxurious new Alfa 159 must be regarded as
being a very strong contender to scoop this highly
prestigious award. Penned by Giorgetto Giugiaro, the Alfa
159, created a stir on the occasion of its public debut on
1st March 2005 at the Geneva Salon, and its arrival on the
market (Italian deliveries have now commenced) has been
anticipated ever since.
However before the Alfa 159 can win it must face some very
stern opposition against which it must measure up, not least
the new BMW 3-Series - which is regarded as the class
benchmark - and the new German model has been widely praised
by the motoring press as being a rightly worthy successor to
the previous incarnation, and a car which is still ahead of
its rivals. Regarded as being an excellent car to drive and
offering very good diesel engines alongside its petrol
line-up, its drawbacks include limited rear leg room
(although more than the Alfa 159), rather
dull styling, and the inherent overrating that always comes
with BMW's products.
Another strong
contender comes from a much cheaper end of the scale, the
small city car which is now being built jointly by Peugeot,
Citroen and Toyota at a brand new factory in the Czech
Republic. Marketed as the 107 by Peugeot, the C1 by Citroen
and the Aygo by Toyota, this little car utilises its
interior space extremely capably, but it does lack the
ability to carry much luggage. Counting against the trio
must be the drawn out joint venture nature of the project
which means that none of the three cars can claim any sense
of individuality, and they are pretty much conformist,
Peugeot, Citroen and Toyota's attempts at creating any
meaningful brand separation having fallen down flat.
The conservative, as usual rather understated new VW Passat
has been widely acknowledged as being a very distinct
improvement over the previous model, although its typically
dull styling lets the visual presentation of the car down,
and certain aspects do not seem well thought out. Build
quality is reportedly to a high standard, while its capacity
to absorb luggage is simply excellent. However the new
Passat is once more a car that few buyers emboldened by a
sense of purpose would ever aspire to own and this must
count against it in the judges' deliberations.
Mazda's latest
models have been edging their way further and further into
the judges' reckoning during recent 'Car of the Year'
awards, and the Mazda5 has been widely praised as a stylish,
innovative and well thought out 7-seater, and is the dark
horse in the contest.
The latest Renault Clio model seeks to build on the compact
car's long-running 'trendy' image, and is a well presented
and finished car that is excellent to drive and which offers
very high safety and equipment levels. However as the new
Clio 'bulks up' in size many journalists have been
disappointed in its presence, feeling it is simply rather
dull and lacking the 'fizz' that made its predecessors so
popular. A well regarded car, the Clio has now grown
'flabby' and lost its character, much like the iconic VW
Golf did. Performance capability is pretty average also, and
so the Clio is probably also an outsider.
The last of the seven cars to make it through to the final
judging is another 'compact' class offering: the
indefatigable Toyota Yaris. Building on the run of success
that this model has already had, the new Yaris has a very
well thought out interior which is extremely spacious, and
its whole demeanour is geared towards sensible practicality.
Whereas the 'old' Yaris was regarded as being fairly bland in appearance,
the new model seems to have taken a big step backwards in
styling terms. The net result is a car that appears very
cheaply made, and lacking in any firm identity. Despite its
weak looks, the
new Yaris has to be a serious contender for 'Car of the
Year' honours.
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