05.12.2003 THE NEW FIAT PALIO HAS SCOOPED THE PRESTIGIOUS 'BRAZILIAN CAR OF THE YEAR 2004' AWARD

The newly facelifted Fiat Palio, launched only last month in Brazil, has scooped a prestigious award after being voted 'Brazilian Car of the Year 2004'. On its way to the title the hatchback fended off strong opposition, including the also just launched compact VW Fox, the Honda Fit, the Citroen C3 and the Toyota Corolla.

The awarding of 'Brazilian Car of the Year' to the Palio continues a strong recent showing by Fiat in Brazil. The Palio previously won the award in 2001, followed by the Stilo, also produced locally, in 2002.

The award was presented at a glitzy ceremony at the Hotel Unique in São Paolo in front of around three hundred invited guests. The traditional Brazilian Car of the Year award is chosen by a panel of judges made up of respected Brazilian automotive journalists. There are three other categories, for best imported car, best utility and best pick-up, the final award seeing the restyled Fiat Strada narrowly miss out to the newly arrived Chevrolet Montana.