Wheels Car of the Year 2008

[Guran]

Just watched the announcement on "A Current Affair". What a pathetic program. Glad I only have to watch it once a year!

The winner ... Honda Accord Euro.

Other three finalists were Mazda 6, Audi A4 and Volkswagen Tiguan.

Wheels have already posted some cool videos on their website, which includes some footage of the 1er coupe and convertible. Enjoy!

http://www.wheelsmag.com.au/wheels/s...257544001CE4D2

[Yep 135]

Why the Honda? I can see why with the Volkswagen Tiguan its good vaue for money.

[cam2801]

My folks recently bought one. It is a well thought out and well executed front wheel drive car. Typical Honda quality in terms of finish and for a car of its class (mid size front wheel drive) drives fairly well.

Not my cup of tea but good car.

[Tj303]

Funny, Drive also announced their COTY as the Honda Accord as well a couple months ago:

http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/Mi...&MiniSiteID=12

Either the Accord must be pretty good, or Honda paid some journalists a lot of money ;-)

The A4 also won best Luxury under $60K in the Drive awards..

[cam2801]

Originally Posted by Tj303

Funny, Drive also announced their COTY as the Honda Accord as well a couple months ago:

http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/Mi...&MiniSiteID=12

Either the Accord must be pretty good, or Honda paid some journalists a lot of money ;-)

The A4 also won best Luxury under $60K in the Drive awards..

If memeory serves Drive gave the award to the Accord where as Wheels gave theirs to the Accord Euro.... same brand two very different cars...

The Accord and the Euro are as different as the 5 and 3 series are yet Honda in their infinite wisdom sell them under the same brand here.

I think we are one of very few markets that gets both being siold as Accords. In US the Euro is sold as an Accura and not as an Accord and in Europe they sell what we know as the Euro simply as the Accord (and not sell the larger model at all as far as I am aware).

Confusing??

[takahashi]

Accord built in Thailand (Love Thai people btw)

Accord Euro aren't built in Europe, they are built in Japan (love the Japanese too)

[Guran]

I agree with what Cameron said. Accord (Drive Car of the Year) and Accord Euro (Wheels Car of the Year) are two very different cars. Not least because the Accord Euro runs an in-line 4 cylinder and the Accord runs a V6, in Australian-spec.

A few slight clarifications. Acura is to Honda what Lexus is to Toyota ie it is their premium brand. It's not a model name. The Acura brand is only used in North America. Our Honda Accord Euro is sold in North America as the Acura TSX. Our Honda Accord (available only with the V6) is the Honda Accord in North America (available with V6 and I4), and the Honda Inspire in Japan.

BTW the Honda Accord was Wheels Car of the Year in 1977 (the first for Honda). Other Hondas to win the award were Prelude (1987), NSX (1991), and Odyssey (1995).

[Wraith]

Originally Posted by cam2801

My folks recently bought one. It is a well thought out and well executed front wheel drive car. Typical Honda quality in terms of finish and for a car of its class (mid size front wheel drive) drives fairly well.

Not my cup of tea but good car.

Totally agree...

Not my cup of tea either, but just like the sales commercial on the car, it really is one of those cars where everything works and works well, a family member of mine has had one for around 4 years and always comments about how it's the best car he's ever had and still hasn't had a single hiccup in that time :smile:

[kingtut1970]

What a load of shiiiiiiiii

[WAY]

Originally Posted by takahashi

Accord built in Thailand (Love Thai people btw)

Accord Euro aren't built in Europe, they are built in Japan (love the Japanese too)

What do you love about thai people? Never mind. :biggrin:

In all seriousness, these Accords are great cars. I would happily recommend either of those cars to friends and my parents. The interior of these cars are pretty good too!

[takahashi]

Originally Posted by WAY

What do you love about thai people? Never mind. :biggrin:

In all seriousness, these Accords are great cars. I would happily recommend either of those cars to friends and my parents. The interior of these cars are pretty good too!

I was hoping BMW 135 will win but seriously they are still pricey for the size it presents... Accord Euro has good motor, good handling and roomy.

They will get more order now and challenge the sales of the Mazda 6, which has most of the sales in this class by far. I need the numbers to confirm that but most people are saying that they see more 6 than the new Euro.

6 or Euro, they are both good cars.

[Wraith]

Originally Posted by takahashi

I was hoping BMW 135 will win but seriously they are still pricey for the size it presents... Accord Euro has good motor, good handling and roomy.

They will get more order now and challenge the sales of the Mazda 6, which has most of the sales in this class by far. I need the numbers to confirm that but most people are saying that they see more 6 than the new Euro.

6 or Euro, they are both good cars.

Definitely more 6's out there and the Mazda 3 and new 2's are doing extremely well also...

Although as said, not my cup of tea, I think I'd choose a Euro over a 6 in this class of vehicle, although not considering the MPS 6 :smile:

[takahashi]

Originally Posted by Wraith

Definitely more 6's out there and the Mazda 3 and new 2's are doing extremely well also...

Although as said, not my cup of tea, I think I'd choose a Euro over a 6 in this class of vehicle, although not considering the MPS 6 :smile:

I have owned both Honda and Mazda, and I have not seen Honda Accord Euro although my office is next to a Honda dealership. I will go and check it out. I think my father wants to change his car.

[Guran]

Mazda6 has definitely been outselling Honda Accord Euro most of the time, although the Accord Euro has been more competitive since the new model arrived. The Mazda6 has struggled selling the new model, supposedly because it requires 95 RON (but so does the Accord Euro). Mazda have very recently retuned it and now it copes with 91 RON, with no drop in fuel economy.

It's also worth keeping in mind that the Mazda6 comes in three body choices (sedan, hatch and wagon), whereas the Accord Euro is only a sedan. Makes the Accord Euro look like an even better sales success story.

[qship]

I recently went car shopping with a friend and the Accord was top of her list. It is a very good car and excellent value for money, particularly with the sales on at the miniute, but it's hardly cutting edge and offers nothing new to the segment and has suprisingly little rear room for a car so big.

[Guran]

I received the COTY issue of Wheels in the post yesterday. Here's what they had to say about the 1 series coupe and convertible which were both knocked out after stage 1:

• In the first stage of looking over the cars and reviewing specs, the 1 Series duo got a qualified nod of approval
• Rear leg room was regarded as "pretty bloody good", although rear-seat headroom in the coupe and rear-seat narrowness in the vert were criticised
• 135i Coupe was considered to be well priced; vert pricing was considered to be a bit excessive (they tested 120i and 125i verts) relative to VW Eos etc.
• 135i Coupe was rated as "one hell of a package" in terms of the performance; the gear shift was thought to be a bit "knuckly"
• ESC worked well in all models, including on dirt and wasn't too intrusive
• Not a lot of evidence of scuttle shake was observed on the verts
• The ride was criticised on really rough stuff; ran out of suspension travel on the bigger bumps (I'll vouch for that!)
• The steering was thought by some to be too heavy at low speeds, although others loved the meaty steering
• Some thought the 135i was too much engine for the package, perhaps not as well rounded as BMW's best coupes
• The 120i Vert suffered a bent lower control arm on the front suspension during testing
• Good scores for safety and environment
• The 125i Coupe was praised as being the sweetest of the bunch due to the absolute smoothness of the engine and balance of power and precision

So all this meant the 1 Series Coupe and Vert finished about mid-field and didn't make it to the next stage.

The three cars that did progress to stage 2 (road loop), in addition to the four already mentioned, were the Ford Falcon FG, Honda Jazz, and Honda Accord V6 ("COTY 2008's great surprise"). But they were kicked out after the road loop testing.

[Breville]

Thanks mate, that saved me buying it

[Wraith]

Originally Posted by Guran

I received the COTY issue of Wheels in the post yesterday. Here's what they had to say about the 1 series coupe and convertible which were both knocked out after stage 1:

• In the first stage of looking over the cars and reviewing specs, the 1 Series duo got a qualified nod of approval
• Rear leg room was regarded as "pretty bloody good", although rear-seat headroom in the coupe and rear-seat narrowness in the vert were criticised
• 135i Coupe was considered to be well priced; vert pricing was considered to be a bit excessive (they tested 120i and 125i verts) relative to VW Eos etc.
• 135i Coupe was rated as "one hell of a package" in terms of the performance; the gear shift was thought to be a bit "knuckly"
• ESC worked well in all models, including on dirt and wasn't too intrusive
• Not a lot of evidence of scuttle shake was observed on the verts
• The ride was criticised on really rough stuff; ran out of suspension travel on the bigger bumps (I'll vouch for that!)
• The steering was thought by some to be too heavy at low speeds, although others loved the meaty steering
• Some thought the 135i was too much engine for the package, perhaps not as well rounded as BMW's best coupes
• The 120i Vert suffered a bent lower control arm on the front suspension during testing
• Good scores for safety and environment
• The 125i Coupe was praised as being the sweetest of the bunch due to the absolute smoothness of the engine and balance of power and precision

So all this meant the 1 Series Coupe and Vert finished about mid-field and didn't make it to the next stage.

The three cars that did progress to stage 2 (road loop), in addition to the four already mentioned, were the Ford Falcon FG, Honda Jazz, and Honda Accord V6 ("COTY 2008's great surprise"). But they were kicked out after the road loop testing.

Interesting and IMO very good and honest rundown there in those points above...

Regarding rear seat comments for both the coupe and vert - very true, in fact all verts with rear seats have that 'narrowness' prob.

And the last statement about the 125i, again from all reports I've read and people with them who've commented say exactly the same thing, it's the best o/a 'balanced' 1er in the range.

135i also IMHO needs more refinement/better running gear kit to make it really good, but I would imagine making it that way would push its price range up and into better vehicles price territory and stack up against it from BMW's perspective :iono:

[AussieRacer]

Wraith go out and drive them both!

IMO the 125i is a great car, but for me it just lacked the brutal edge of the 135i. In terms of driving quickly, the 135i will always be more of a handful (or in some eyes less well-balances) compared to the 125i. Any rear drive car with a $h!t load of turbo induced torque is going to require a level of throttle control, that car like a 125i don't need. You just floor a 125i. A standard 135i (either with DTC on or completely off) requires modulation. Of course gripper tyres and a LSD will return some balance to a package that has M3 power in a less focussed chassis.

[Guran]

Originally Posted by Guran

I agree with what Cameron said. Accord (Drive Car of the Year) and Accord Euro (Wheels Car of the Year) are two very different cars. Not least because the Accord Euro runs an in-line 4 cylinder and the Accord runs a V6, in Australian-spec.

Slight correction. Apparently the Aussie spec Accord is available with either an in-line 4 cylinder or a V6. I thought it was only a V6, but then noticed that the VTi version comes with the 2.3 litre i-VTEC engine.