# AutoExpress Car of the Year



## Widget (May 7, 2002)

The important ones:

*Best Hot Hatch
Honda Civic Type-R*

Commended
Mini Cooper S
Renaultsport Clio

*Best Coupe
Audi TT*

Commended
BMW 3-Series Coupe
Jaguar XK

*Best Convertible
Mazda MX-5*

Commended
BMW 3-Series Convertible
VW Eos

*Best Sporting Car
Porsche Cayman*

Commended
Audi R8
Nissan 350z

Any surprises?

Oh,

*Overall Car Of The Year
Ford Mondeo*


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## W7 PMC (May 6, 2002)

The 2 funniest for me where the TT being the better coupe than the Jag XK  & the Cayman being better than the R8, given the R8 is playing at least 1-2 divisions higher than the Cayman.

Who in their right mind would take a TT over an XK :lol:

Have to agree on the Mondeo (no surprise it won). I've seen a few now & TBH i think they look great & if i was back as a rep, i'd not be upset to be driving round in one of the New Mondeo's as my company car.


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## mighTy Tee (Jul 10, 2002)

Agree the new Mondeo looks superb.

Did I read somewhere the designer of the Mondeo is ex-Audi?


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## YELLOW_TT (Feb 25, 2004)

W7 PMC said:


> Have to agree on the Mondeo (no surprise it won). I've seen a few now & TBH i think they look great & if i was back as a rep, i'd not be upset to be driving round in one of the New Mondeo's as my company car.


The BMW 3 series is now more common on the roads than the Mondeo so it even wins on exclusivity


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## Widget (May 7, 2002)

W7 PMC said:


> given the R8 is playing at least 1-2 divisions higher than the Cayman.


Doesn't necessarily make it a more responsive/rewarding drive though, does it?


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## W7 PMC (May 6, 2002)

Widget said:


> W7 PMC said:
> 
> 
> > given the R8 is playing at least 1-2 divisions higher than the Cayman.
> ...


Well i'd guess it does really. I know the Cayman is a good car, but better than the R8?? I doubt that. If it's already stated the R8 is better than the Carrera & on a par with the Lambo etc., i can hardly see the lowly Cayman being the better car, can you?? Would have been better pitching the Cayman against the TT really :lol:

TBH i've not driven either so am not qualified to comment, but given they thing the TT is better than the XK, i'm hardly holding their views as being the voice of the people.


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## Widget (May 7, 2002)

A more expensive car doesn't necessarily make it better.

One of the greatest handling cars of all time is sub Â£30k :roll:

Besides, true sports cars are rear wheel drive, are they not?


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## W7 PMC (May 6, 2002)

Widget said:


> A more expensive car doesn't necessarily make it better.
> 
> One of the greatest handling cars of all time is sub Â£30k :roll:
> 
> Besides, true sports cars are rear wheel drive, are they not?


OK, i'll try again.

Price does not make for a better car at a particular singular function, but overall one would assume it does, as the price has to be justified. If the R8 was only a Â£50K car it would cost Â£50K & if the Cayman was an Â£80K car then it would cost Â£80K. More expesive overall would mean better but at a particular thing it would need defining. Perhaps better & more desirable are close indicators.

I doubt that true sports cars have to be RWD, although going down the Pork route, the GT3 is the sportier of the high end 911's, but is it more of a sports car than the AWD Turbo?? Who am i to decide that??

Surely if you're going to class cars & score them in a division, then one would expect that division to be a tad more aligned as per the articles hot hatch award. The award i made the point of is "Best Sporting Car" not best Sports car, so how does one define Sporting?? as that surely covers a multitude of areas. My car is Sporting, as it has a sporty engine, firm suspension & is very fast, but would that be defined in the mid range saloon category or the sporting category??

Purely perception me thinks.


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## Widget (May 7, 2002)

W7 PMC said:


> Purely perception me thinks.


Indeed


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## TTwiggy (Jul 20, 2004)

whereas, arguably, my car is a 'pure' sports car, because anything more is unnecessary. Having said that I'm not going to suggest that it's better than the R8!


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## Kell (May 28, 2002)

Not to pick on you Paul, but just to pick up the argument.

THe TT may not be 'better' than the XK (for example) but it may be better at 30k than the Jag is at Â£XX (whatever it costs).

When they do these 'best coupes' awards, they will normally award points in lots of different areas and price is quite a key one.


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## W7 PMC (May 6, 2002)

Kell said:


> Not to pick on you Paul, but just to pick up the argument.
> 
> THe TT may not be 'better' than the XK (for example) but it may be better at 30k than the Jag is at Â£XX (whatever it costs).
> 
> When they do these 'best coupes' awards, they will normally award points in lots of different areas and price is quite a key one.


That's very true & if i only had Â£30K to spend on a coupe then i could not afford an XK, just seems stupid to lump such different cars (especially their price) in the same category.

As said, it's down to perception really.


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## jampott (Sep 6, 2003)

So the Coxster is 'better' than the iconic 911? :roll:


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## W7 PMC (May 6, 2002)

jampott said:


> So the Coxster is 'better' than the iconic 911? :roll:


& the R8 8)

TBH though & i may be wrong, but was it not confirmed early in the Caymans life that it was the best overall Porsche package, better drive & handling that the 997?? Perhaps price played a part but i'm sure the press rated the Cayman as the better Pork on the road & track.


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## Leg (Jan 11, 2006)

TTwiggy said:


> whereas, arguably, my car is a 'pure' sports car, because anything more is unnecessary. Having said that I'm not going to suggest that it's better than the R8!


I would suggest that an Exige S is a better 'Sporting car' than a Cayman S though. In fact, surely an Exige S is one of the best sporting cars period, short of an Atom or similar. :?

Mind you bear in mind which magazine we are talking about here, Ive wiped my arse with better.


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## Hannibal (Dec 1, 2003)

TTwiggy said:


> whereas, arguably, my car is a 'pure' sports car, because _*anything more is unnecessary*_. Having said that I'm not going to suggest that it's better than the R8!


How about more power??

H


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## garyc (May 7, 2002)

W7 PMC said:


> Widget said:
> 
> 
> > A more expensive car doesn't necessarily make it better.
> ...


Now then, now then, now then.

WHO is the Auto Express fan around here?

Many, myself included, think it is only good for recommending air fresheners and crook locks.

So who really cares?

...and the Mondeo has only just started shipping, and apart from being larger than the previous Scorpio, it really is too soon to know what sort of a sales success it will be.


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## Rebel (Feb 12, 2005)

Yahooooooooo , we won again ........

[smiley=sleeping.gif]


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## W7 PMC (May 6, 2002)

garyc said:


> W7 PMC said:
> 
> 
> > Widget said:
> ...


I certainly don't care as i neither own or intend to own any of the cars mentioned in the article. The results do sniff of stupidness, however i've always liked AE as it's weekly & it brightens up an otherwise dull Wednesday. Not as informative as say Evo, but a roadtest is a roadtest after all 

Is the Mondeo really bigger than the previous Scorpio?? I knew it had grown but had no idea it had grown that much. As said, i really like them & have seen a few on the road now. Can't say i'd ever spend my own money on one, but against say the Primera, Laguna & Vectra i'd not even think twice about the one i'd prefer. Would still have a 3 Series instead, but that's the badge snob in me. However surely if the New Mondeo is Scorpio sized then it must fall into the 5 Series category now??


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## Leg (Jan 11, 2006)

W7 PMC said:


> garyc said:
> 
> 
> > W7 PMC said:
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FWD vs RWD m8, why would anyone who had a choice choose the FWD Ford over any RWD car? Beats me.


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## W7 PMC (May 6, 2002)

Can't imagine many folk buy a Mondeo for the overall driving experience :lol: The Mondy is no doubt very safe, acomplished & handles well & as i assume most cars will be comapny cars & be clocking up say 25-30K miles per annum, the environment does not need to be inspiring, just safe, gadget rich & pleasant.


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## jampott (Sep 6, 2003)

W7 PMC said:


> Can't imagine many folk buy a Mondeo for the overall driving experience :lol: The Mondy is no doubt very safe, acomplished & handles well & as i assume most cars will be comapny cars & be clocking up say 25-30K miles per annum, the environment does not need to be inspiring, just safe, gadget rich & pleasant.


Your Mondy is sadly missing from your sig, Paul. :lol:


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## W7 PMC (May 6, 2002)

jampott said:


> W7 PMC said:
> 
> 
> > Can't imagine many folk buy a Mondeo for the overall driving experience :lol: The Mondy is no doubt very safe, acomplished & handles well & as i assume most cars will be comapny cars & be clocking up say 25-30K miles per annum, the environment does not need to be inspiring, just safe, gadget rich & pleasant.
> ...


I'm at my max number of characters for my sig, so no room for the Mondy. I will have to start deleting when change time comes again.

TBH my ownership was for the exact reasons i describe, without the multiple ownership. I used mine for load lugging, motorway mile munching & to leave in any area without it being damaged. That said, it's the only car i've owned that's ever been keyed :?


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## V6 TT (Sep 24, 2002)

jampott said:


> So the Coxster is 'better' than the iconic 911? :roll:


...not in my experience! :roll: 

Beats me how people who drive 'fast' saloons and lardy estate cars have the balls to comment...come back when you've actually owned a sports car (well at least 1 come on!) you words may hold more worth to the rest of us! :wink:

D


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## garyc (May 7, 2002)

V6 TT said:


> jampott said:
> 
> 
> > So the Coxster is 'better' than the iconic 911? :roll:
> ...


Excuse me but you are behind the times. R8 is the car to have. Well for this year anyway. 8 out of 10 Porsches owners want to change.... :lol:


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## jampott (Sep 6, 2003)

V6 TT said:


> jampott said:
> 
> 
> > So the Coxster is 'better' than the iconic 911? :roll:
> ...


I wasn't giving a personal opinion - merely that of the magazine. Get yer head out of yer arse. :roll:


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## W7 PMC (May 6, 2002)

V6 TT said:


> jampott said:
> 
> 
> > So the Coxster is 'better' than the iconic 911? :roll:
> ...


I hope by fast saloons you were not having a dig at me?? :wink:

I only echoed what the press have said about the Cayman & they did say it was a more accomplished Sports Car than the 911, that said i now can't recall if they were pitching against 996's or 997's.

I've not owned either (would never own a Cayman) so can't comment from personal experience. 8)


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## garyc (May 7, 2002)

jampott said:


> V6 TT said:
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> 
> > jampott said:
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Tim, a strong personal view about Porsche? Couldn't possibly be so. :lol:


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