Clio Mk3 wins Car of the Year

[Scudetto]

Apologies if you know already, but the Clio Mk 3 has won Car of The Year.

"A strong boost for Fiat surely comes from the election of the new Renault Clio as 'European Car of the Year'. The Clio is unexciting, with a cheap-looking interior, sluggish performance and poor styling. The new Fiat Grande Punto is truly head and shoulders above its French rival in every possible area, and if the international press believe that the Clio is the best new car in the segment, Fiat's offering will swiftly shatter this illusion. The 'European Car of the Year 2006' award will be presented tomorrow night."

This came from an Italian car website where they're a touch bitter that the 159 didn't win. So they're bigging up the new Punto instead.

g

 

[TheJesus]

is this the new Clio that's not even really out yet??? I'm assuming it's been out in europe for a while, so faults can start to show themselves... or is this 'car of the future' awards? lol

 

[Scudetto]

yep, the new 2006 Clio that you can now buy.

Winning order was:

1) 2006 Clio
2) 2006 Passat (!)
3) 2006 159
4) 2005/6 3series

got bored reading after that.

g

 

[Lee]

3 Series!! Looks like a Nissan Primera:dead:.

 

[TheJesus]

how can it win car of the year after being out only ten minutes? also this is for 2006... it's not 2006 yet and 2006 will last for 365 days after that... love to know how they figure these things out... some crystal ball and a Gandalf looking mutha fucker I bet!

 

[Scudetto]

TheJesus - check it out mate:

http://www.caroftheyear.org/pages/Coty06.htm

g

 

[Rip3z]

1966 winner

I like that!

 

[Scudetto]

...and lest we forget that gorgeous-looking automotive legend, the Renault 9. A winner from 1981 (?) iirc.

g

 

[theduck]

come on, how can they expect the punto to win? everybody knows Fiat stands for Fix It Again Tommorow!

 

[Scudetto]

boss, the Punto wasn't a finalist. It could be next year, although I'm not sure what the rules are about the timeframe the car has to be launched in for it to qualify. They're just banging their chests saying that the new Grande Punto is a better car than the Clio (something which, so far, most road tests have agreed with).

I think Fiat has won COTY more times than any other car manufacturer. Probably a brown envelope job, but winners nonetheless ;-)

g

 

[Kevmeister]

i love it

 

[MATT BLACK]

Fix
It
Again
Tommorow

 

[Clart]

My Fiat was more reliable than my 3 clio's put together!

 

[Ally]

Bugger, that'll be yet another sticker to remove from the back window if I ever buy a mk3 clio...

I've had a fiat, I've had a Renault - not had a problem with either.

 

[Sine]

boss, the Punto wasn't a finalist. It could be next year, although I'm not sure what the rules are about the timeframe the car has to be launched in for it to qualify. They're just banging their chests saying that the new Grande Punto is a better car than the Clio (something which, so far, most road tests have agreed with).

I think Fiat has won COTY more times than any other car manufacturer. Probably a brown envelope job, but winners nonetheless ;-)

g

Where did you see that? Most road tests show that the punto is badly built!

 

[Scudetto]

Sine - we're talking about the 'new' Grand Punto, not the one that was introduced a few years back. The road tests I have seen have been in CAR, and The Daily Telegraph's motoring section. There may have been others, but I don't recall them now. Fiat's build quality 'improves' with each car; as I've not yet seen one myself, how the new Fiat compares with a new VW (or the MK3 Clio) on build quality, I can't say pal. And of course, build quality is just one thing they compared - 'overall', they thought it spicer and better than the new Clio.

Personally, neither of them do a great deal for me.

g

 

[littleone]

Sun page 27

 

[kitty kat]

but the new clio is so ugly! why would you buy one?

 

[Rip3z]

:S Better looking than the mk2 imho.

 

[puncher]

i tend to feel the same about the clio 3. the styling doesnt really look any better than the previous model in my opinion. maybe worse !


but looking at the prototype pics of the next generation clio sport. i was quite impressed and i think it looks great ! im anxious as to how much performance increase the engine will have .

ive always wondered how renault can build engines as good as anybody in places like f1 but in the clio they produce horse power figures that honda in its type r models were getting ten years ago.

dont get me wrong the clio sport motor is a great engine and is more user friendly etc but if it had as much power as the type r engines with its lighter weight i wonder how much better its lap times would be. which are already impressive.