10.01.2012 FIAT PANDA MAKES THE CAR OF THE YEAR FINAL SHORTLIST OF SEVEN

FIAT PANDA 2012

The Panda is a well-rounded car and develops the small city car in every area, offering improved interior space and stylish touches and tweaks, notably in the form of an all-new dashboard. Possibly counting against it, however, will be its evolutionary-rather-than-revolutionary execution, with the package as a whole offering nothing that stands out as especially new or innovative.

The new Fiat Panda has made it though to the final shortlist of seven new models that are still vying to become European Car of the Year 2012, with the winner set to be announced at the beginning of March. There was, however, no place on the final shortlist for the Lancia Ypsilon, which joined the 28 other cars that were knocked out at the first hurdle.

The Panda is joined in the second round by six other cars up for final consideration by the 59 judges, namely the VW up!, Opel Ampera, Toyota Yaris, Range Rover Evoque, Ford Focus and Citroën DS5.

The new third-generation Panda will be aiming to follow in the footsteps of the outgoing model which won the award in 2004 (when it took the title with 40 points in hand over the Mazda 3). The title of European Car of the Year is regarded as one of the most prestigious titles to attain, although the judges’ record on picking successful cars over the years has been patchy.

The last Panda broke ground as it was the first A-segment car ever to scoop the title. Its platform-mate, the Fiat 500, won in 2008, only the second A-segment car to do so, and Fiat retains a lockout of winners in this segment which it will hope to add to this time around. This year the Panda, which is an all-round evolution of a car that went onto be a real winner in the showrooms, faces tough competition from its new A-segment rival, VW’s up!, which is regarded as one of the strong favourites to scoop the crown. These two models will be battling for status in the final points tally.

The Panda is a well-rounded car and develops the small city car in every area, offering improved interior space and stylish touches and tweaks, notably in the form of an all-new dashboard. Possibly counting against it, however, will be its evolutionary-rather-than-revolutionary execution, with the package as a whole offering nothing that stands out as especially new or innovative. Perhaps most significantly, the Panda missed out on the almost-obligatory maximum safety rating from EuroNCAP, instead having to settle for four stars. This rating, caused in part by Fiat choosing not to fit ESP as standard across the vast majority of the range, could prove fatal in the judges’ minds. The up!, by contrast, achieved the maximum five stars.

Ford’s latest Focus is also a strong contender for the title of European Car of the Year 2012, as the judges look favourably on this category of car and the brand has a strong record in the competition. Citroen’s new DS5 completes the DS range, and is a stylish new contender, but must be regarded as one of the outsiders. Elsewhere, Toyota has renewed its B-segment offering, the Yaris, with another trademark dependable competitor, Range Rover’s new Evoque has just collected the title of World Truck of the Year and is galvanising the battered brand’s sales, while the Opel Ampera amounts to little more than a repackaged Chevrolet Volt. With Nissan’s Leaf EV winning the title last year, it will have to impress the judges sufficiently to collect back-to-back EV wins.

 

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© 2012 Interfuture Media/Italiaspeed