Fiat Auto’s Grande Punto, which went on sale in the UK at the beginning of this year, has just been named Scottish Small Car of the Year by The Association of Scottish Motoring Writers in the Scottish Car of the Year Awards 2006. Now in its ninth year, Scottish Car of the Year is judged by members of the ASMW, and more than 50 new models launched during the past 12 months were in contention for a 2006 accolade, awarded across eight categories.

Commenting on the vote for Grande Punto, Stephen Park, President of The ASMW, says: “The days when compact runabouts or ‘city’ cars broke into a heavy sweat whenever they ventured outside the concrete jungle are thankfully over.“ Today’s breed offers much more, including comfort, refinement and versatility. The current crop, personified by Fiat’s new Grande Punto, has transformed the small car sector out of all recognition in recent times.“ Keen pricing, a fantastic choice of engines and a striking sense of style, ensured that the Grande Punto nudged ahead of the Renault Clio and the Peugeot 207 to secure the Scottish Small Car of the Year accolade.”
 

Meanwhile the Fiat Grande Punto is on the final shortlist for the ultimate automotive accolade: the European Car of the Year. The Car of the Year is an international award, judged by a panel of senior motoring journalists from important magazines across Europe. Its object is to acclaim the most outstanding new car to go on sale in the twelve month period preceding the date of the title. The final results and the 206 winner will be announced in two weeks time. From the 41 contenders put forward this year for the award, the 58 members of the jury last month nominated eight cars for the final short list, as there was a tie in points for the seventh place. They cars to be chosen by the jury were as follows: Citroën C4 Picasso, Fiat Grande Punto, Ford S-Max, Honda Civic, Opel/Vauxhall Corsa, Peugeot 207, Skoda Roomster and Volvo C30.