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The Fiat Grande
Punto has picked up the top prize of 'Auto Europa 2006',
which is awarded annually to the best new car of the year in
the opinion of the members of the Unione Italiana
Giornalisti dell'Automobile (UIGA).
The UIGA - the Italian automotive journalists' union -
bestows the award to European-built cars, after examining
areas such as construction, design, technology and pricing.
This year saw Fiat's new 'compact' segment Grande Punto
model going head to head with twenty one other new cars on a
final shortlist. These rivals also included Fiat's new Croma
'station wagon' and from sister brand Alfa Romeo, the new
159 sedan. The rest of the short list was made up of the
Audi A6, BMW 3-series, Honda CR-V, Jeep Grand Cherokee,
Range Rover Sport, Mercedes B-class, Mitsubishi Colt, Nissan
Pathfinder, Opel Zafira, Peugeot 1007, Porsche 997,
Toyota/Peugeot/Citroen Aygo/107/C1, Renault Clio, Saab 9-3 Sporthatch, Seat Leon, Skoda Octavia Wagon, Suzuki Swift,
Volkswagen Passat and the Volkswagen Polo.
The judging - which took place on the 12th and 13th November
- saw the Grande Punto ending up a clear winner, ahead of
Peugeot's unusual sliding-door entry 1007. The Grande Punto
finally scored 687 points, with the 1007 racking up 633pts,
while the new joint small car project from Peugeot, Citroen
and Toyota was placed third (332pts).
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