(1888PressRelease)
October 10, 2009 - The current issue of ‘new car,’ Ireland’s leading motoring title from the publishers of Car Buyers Guide (http://www.cbg.ie), announces the winners of its prestigious New Car of the Year Awards for 2010. The winner, runner-up and third-placed vehicle in each of the 21 categories are the subject of insightful comment from respected Irish motoring journalist Conor Twomey, and four new categories have been added for this year: the Green Car, Best Engine, Brand Commitment to Safety and Overall Safety Awards.
The four new awards for 2010 are intended to laud those vehicles that best address the main concerns of modern car buyers. The environmental impact of your vehicle has taken on even greater importance since the introduction of the emissions-based VRT and Road Tax regime in July 2008, and the new Toyota Prius is a worthy winner of the magazine’s inaugural Green Car Award. Better looking, roomier, faster, better handling and cleaner than ever before, the third-generation Prius has finally achieved the perfect balance between performance and economy.
The Best Engine Award, meanwhile, was scooped up by BMW’s 2.0-litre ‘EfficientDynamics’ turbo-diesel unit, which, with CO2 emissions of just 109g/km but the ability to deliver a sprightly 0–100km/h time of 8.2 seconds, impressed as a clean option that doesn’t require the driver to compromise on performance or fun. The two new safety awards, which were presented in association with the Road Safety Authority (RSA), were won by the same manufacturer, as Honda garnered both the Brand Commitment to Safety Award and the Overall Safety Award for the Insight. Presenting the Brand Commitment to Safety Award to Honda Marketing Manager Neil Dalton, RSA Chief Executive Noel Brett commented, “Honda’s unswerving devotion to safety in its vehicles is illustrated by the impressive NCAP safety ratings across its entire range, and all its models boast commendable occupant and child-protection ratings, too.”
Notable results among the returning categories include the Kia Soul’s eyebrow-raising second place, after the VW Golf, in the Family Car category. Seen in the past as a budget option, the Korean manufacturer has created a funky alternative to the traditional family car that has edged out previous segment mainstays Toyota and Ford. In the Crossover category, Peugeot hit the ground running as its 3008, the French marque’s first foray into this segment, pushed the formerly all-conquering Nissan Qashqai into second place, while a glimpse of things to come is offered in the SUV category, where the Lexus RX450H, a hybrid no less, beat the Range Rover Sport and BMW X1, perhaps heralding a sea change in what has been seen, traditionally, as the least environmentally friendly segment.
And change was also in the air as ‘new car’ announced its overall winner for 2010. In what is, perhaps, a reflection of these more austere times, Toyota’s quirky city car, the iQ, couldn’t be more removed from last year’s overall winner, the opulent BMW 7-Series, but its elegantly simple concept, brilliant execution and impressively low running costs make it worthy of this year’s top spot.
New Car’s 2010 Awards – Full List of This Year’s Winners
City Car: Toyota iQ
Supermini: Ford Fiesta
Family Car: VW Golf
Large Family Car: Opel Insignia
People Carrier: Ford S-Max/Galaxy
Crossover: Peugeot 3008
Compact Executive Car: Audi A5 Sportback
Large Executive Car: BMW 5-Series
Luxury Car: Porsche Panamera
Luxury Crossover/SUV: Lexus RX450H
Executive Convertible: Audi A5 Convertible
Convertible/Cabriolet: Fiat 500C
Roadster: Mazda MX-5
Coupé/Sportscar: VW Scirocco
Hot Hatch: Ford Focus RS
Performance Car: Porsche 911 GT3
Green Car: Toyota Prius
Best Engine: BMW 2.0-litre ‘EfficientDynamics’ turbo diesel
Brand Commitment to Safety: Honda
Overall Safety: Honda Insight
Overall Winner: Toyota iQ
About CBG.ie
CBG.ie is the premier website for car dealers and private sellers to advertise their cars for sale. The site is also an authoritative resource for Irish motoring news, with continually updated reviews, features, news and views. As Ireland’s No. 1 motoring website, CBG.ie provides an excellent and hugely cost-effective platform from which to find buyers for your cars. With over 50,000 vehicles advertised by 700 dealers and over 10,000 private advertisers at any one time, CBG.ie is the only motoring website to have exclusive partnerships with the leading national newspaper websites (The Irish Times and Independent Newspapers), and it also provides motoring channels to Yahoo.ie and MSN.ie. CBG.ie is visited by buyers over 525,000 times per month, and users view over 18.5 million pages on the website per month. Visit us online at http://www.cbg.ie.
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