 |
|
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.
|
|
|
