CR-Z wins prestigtious Australian award

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That90sGuy

That90sGuy

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Yes. You read right, a CR-Z wins one of Australia's biggest motoring awards, Wheels Magazine's Car of the Year. The other finalists were a Skoda Yeti, the new Ford Focus, an Audi A6, a Range Rover Vouge :odd: and the VW Scirocco R.

They revealed the winner on TV this morning and the magazine (I assume) is out today. Surely the CR-Z isn't that good that it beat the other finalists? I would have thought the Focus or the Yeti would have got it? Thoughts?
 
Clearly they haven't driven one through a burning barn.
 
Depends what they were rating it on. It's a good car according to most reviews I've read. Better than a yeti? Depends how you rate it. Better than a Focus? Maybe, since the current gen Focus is considered by many to be a bit disappointing compared to its excellent predecessor.
 
I was slightly expecting it to be honest. Also it's the Range Rover Evoque, not the Vogue ;) .

With the other finalists, these were the major reasons why they weren't picked:

Ford Focus
- All of the range available was CoTY material but the flagship Titanium let the side down with ride comfort on the 18s with low-profile tyres, turning circle, boot space and the front-heavy feel when equipped with the diesel. Another mark down was the fact that the Focus lost out to the Golf on two comparison tests previously.

Audi A6
- Quite close to the award. Well featured for the price, great ride and strong engines, but "unadventurous" styling and some of the judges "argued that while a massive step forward for Audi, this was more a catch-up car than a new class benchmark."

Range Rover Evoque
- Beautiful fit and finish, great drive and stunning looks were outweighed by its poor fuel consumption, value for money, ride comfort and the "sometimes scatty auto".

Skoda Yeti
- "The Yeti's biggest problem is VW's recently facelifted Tiguan...The $26,290 base, front-drive 1.2 TSI looks like a reasonable deal if the budget is truly tight. But a mere $2K stretch and you've bought a Tiguan 118TSI with 50 more kilowatts." The ride/handling was also a concern.

Volkswagen Scirocco R
- "The ride is so firm it's really only tolerable on freeways or ultra-smooth hotmix. Anything less - and that's 90% of Aussie blacktop - and the chassis' restless tossing and bucking is downright tiring. The rude ride is certainly not helped by Volkswagen Australia's decision to fit lower-profile 19s as standard...Did anyone from VW Australia drive the 19s locally before ticking this box?"

Honda CR-Z (winner)
- "Driver involvement - rather than hypothetical, unreal-world performance - was central to the development of the world's first production sports-hybrid. We reckon it's a brilliant strategy. Award winning, in fact..."
- "Light, swift, precise six-speed manual is a standout"
- "With simple suspensions front and rear, and its close relationship to the Jazz and Insight (neither noted for their power to please), the CR-Z simply had no right to be so good. Yet Honda's chassis tuners - this time - have made a little gem from the most basic materials."
 
Even after they stiffened up the front suspension of the Focus, they found the diesel front heavy? Harsh. What do they want? For Ford to stick in a 1.2 liter diesel, instead? :lol:
 
Almost all of the complaints lodged with the Focus remained with the flagship Titanium and its 18" wheel/tyre combo. Dunno why they only found the Titanium diesel too front-heavy for their liking if the diesel engine is used across the entire range but there you go...

Interestingly enough the Mercedes-Benz C250 CDI won Drive Australia CoTY 2011 (other finalists in Wheels CoTY, the Focus Trend [mid-range for AUDM] and the Audi A6 3.0 TDi, won their respective categories of best small car and best luxury over $80,000) and the Kia Rio won CoTY 2011 for carsguide.com.au
 
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