Fiat 500 - Car of the Year

Fiat 500 - Watch out, this is the car of the year!

By Alexander Tallberg
November 19, 2007 3:19 PM
Filed Under: European, Fiat

Fiat's heroic retro 500 remake has been selected as the Car of The Year 2008. The Fiat 500, poised as "the MINI killer," has been a huge success with Fiat reportedly having received over 57,000 orders within a week of the model launch.

Approved by over 58 jury members from 22 countries, the Fiat 500 scored 385 points, confidently beating the second-placed Mazda 2 hatchback, which received 325 points. Ford's all-new Mondeo took third place with 202 points. The other top candidates included the Kia Cee'd, Nissan Qashqai and the brand-new Mercedes C-class.

Steve Cropley, editor-in-chief of Autocar and Car of the Year juror, said that "every now and then a car comes along that undoubtedly deserves to be Car of The Year – the Fiat 500 is one of those cars." He added that 34 of the 58 jurors ranked the Fiat 500 in the top spot, a further indication that Fiat has really got it spot on.

Source: Fiat

Press Release (Click to expand)

Fiat 500 is Car of The Year

The iconic new Fiat 500 has taken the top spot in this year’s Car of The Year competition, winning the approval of 58 jury members from 22 countries.

Scoring 385 points, the Fiat beat the Mazda 2, which took second place with 325 votes, and the third-placed Ford Mondeo, which received 202 points.

Fourth went to the Kia Cee’d (166 points), fifth to the Nissan Qashqai (147), sixth to the Mercedes C-Class (128) and seventh to the Peugeot 308 (97).

Steve Cropley, COTY juror and Autocar editor-in-chief said “Every now and then a car comes along that undoubtedly deserves to be Car of The Year – the Fiat 500 is one of those cars.  34 of the 58 jurors placed the Fiat 500 at the top of their lists, a clear indication that this was indeed the year for Fiat. Good things come in small packages”.

Fiat will collect the award at an official ceremony in Berlin on the 28th January 2008.

The COTY jury is made up of 58 senior motoring journalists from 22 countries. Their objective is to choose the most outstanding new car to go on sale in the past 12 months. Jurors vote twice:  first to select a short-list of seven from the new cars launched in Europe, then again to choose the winner.

Autocar is one of seven leading publications from around Europe which organise the COTY contest. Each publication takes it in turn to organise the vote, publicise and promote the contest and hold the prize-giving ceremony.

The jury is completely independent of the Organising Committee in matters connected with the award itself, the selection of eligible cars and the voting.

COTY PREVIOUS WINNERS                        

2007 FORD S-MAX
2006   RENAULT CLIO
2005  TOYOTA PRIUS
2004  FIAT PANDA
2003 RENAULT MEGANE
2002 PEUGEOT 307
2001 ALFA ROMEO 147
2000   TOYOTA YARIS
1999  FORD FOCUS
1998  ALFA ROMEO 156
1997 RENAULT MEGANE SCENIC
1996      FIAT BRAVO / BRAVA
1995 FIAT PUNTO

Comments

asif
November 19, 2007 4:26 PM
well done to fiat. not too keen on the car, but i guess its quite a little revelation in real life. to me its not as original as the mini however...

puddingpuppet
November 19, 2007 5:59 PM
What were those judges smoking?

BENZian
November 19, 2007 7:18 PM
I have to agree...nice little car but not as interesting as a Mini...does anyone other than me see this car as a Beetle knock-off?

coopergt
November 19, 2007 8:49 PM
Way cool car. Bring it to the USA!

Volta
November 19, 2007 8:52 PM
Oh, come on. It was totaly logical thic car was going to win. They couldn't pick Ford because Ford won with allmost every model they put out, the Merc is to expensive, the Nissan is a SUV and a repulsive one, Kia is quite good. So that leaves us with a Mazda a Fiat 500. The Fiat won because it not only looks and drives good but it's also an auto icon. I won a 2-beer bet on this Car of the year competition :p

MBAMG12
November 20, 2007 12:50 AM
Just curious, why is it that the cars from bigger luxury brands don't win? I also think that this car incorporates past design elements with modern elements flawlessly, as many other manufacturers have failed to do so. It's just my personal opinion that this car is a bit overrated.

Harajoshi
November 20, 2007 6:53 AM
Very cute car, too bad only idiots and b****** drive it.

joelynn
November 20, 2007 8:57 PM
The new MINI is far less truthful to the original than the 500, it's bloated in size, price tag and looks- I mean the indicators in the headlamps of the 2nd generation new MINI- hideous. The 500 deserves to win, and I hope FIAT continue their winning streak.

SpeedfreakJoe
November 21, 2007 11:13 AM
I like the 500! it's actually the first FIAT that I like since many years! the Bravo looks great also! but i still prefer Mini for quality and engineering!

hondaboy22
November 22, 2007 4:15 AM
I guess price is the major factor for this because Mercedes-Benz has over a dozen different models which are better than any of the ones above. Only the C class is mentioned? Yeah the new CL is stupid compared to the fiat 500

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