Wheels Car of the Year Award (Australia)

[replicant_008]

http://carpoint.ninemsn.com.au/porta...opDefault.aspx

Wheels announced their Car of the Year Award this morning AEDST - I tend to agree with them but then I am a bit biased seeing as it is my daily drive these days.

[Ssom]

3 in a row for Ford! (Well the RX8 is a Mazda that technically makes it a Ford) and hot on the heels of the BA Falcons 2002 triumph.


What's the bet that if the Aussies got the third gen Mondeo it would've taken out the 2001 award as well (Instead of the Holden Barina, I think it was).

What'd you do with YOUR Mondeo Rep? Why are you driving around in a Terriotory, wait I'm going to hazard a guess and say ski fields have something to do with it. (Haven't seen you for ages, welcome back man)

[taranaki]

Had some silly cow in a territory try to reverse into me in New World car park yesterday.She'd stuffed up her approach to a corner and had to try and three-point turn to get around a corner that even a tank driver should have aced.

[Oz]

Looks like Ford found some more room to be creative with their 'marketing' budgets.

[Ssom]

Originally Posted by Oz

Looks like Ford found some more room to be creative with their 'marketing' budgets.

Meh, I'd say the same about Nissan, the Maxima always has a suspicious trait of winning (almost) every car of the year award it's eligible for over here, even though there is sometimes more deserving cars.

[SiGNAL748]

Originally Posted by Moss1O6GTi

Well the RX8 is a Mazda that technically makes it a Ford

uhhh...iirc, only select mazda vehicles were shared by ford, Escape->Tribute, Ranger->B-Series Truck; the rx8 not being one of them. Ford only controls 33% of Mazda.

[replicant_008]

Moss - The Mondeo got sold to a deserving bloke somewhere in the South Island who transported down from Auckland as it was apparently what he wanted and couldn't get down there.

The Territory was on a short list of 5 cars for my company car (vs Honda Accord Euro, Mazda 6, Ford Falcon XR6 and VY Commodore S V6S) and started out at the bottom. The Maxima didn't make the cut simply because it ain't no driver's car (unlike Euro, 6, XR6 and the Commodore) and had no redeeming qualities like being AWD and able to carry my diving and rescue gear.

BTW Taranaki - I got the reverse parking radar fitted on mine but the turning circle is the same as the Falcon... just got to get used to how big it is and I have a Class 4 licence anyway...

I nearly went for the Euro (liked it more than the 6) but the boot opening was too small for the hard cases for my gear and it wasn't a liftback like the Mondeo or the 6. I drove the Commo and XR6 and was looking at the XR when I decided to go for a spin in the Territory - handled more like a car than a truck and had all the room I needed...

[Jimster]

I'd probably have picked the Golf for the award, since it's such an improvement over the old one (Which was a pretty important car for VW). But then again we don't get Territories over here.....

[TankMMC]

One of the most overrated cars of 2004. Thankfully at least the NZ public, largely, seems to agree, as I can't remember the last time I saw one outside of a Ford dealer's parking lot

[Ssom]

I see them all the time. Apparently it's the best selling SUV in NZ for 2004, also some months was the fourth best selling car overall (Though I know for a fact that the Mondeo is number four for the whole year)

[TankMMC]

i must be going blind.

THAT was the fourth best selling car? Christ thats just sad...

I remember (some months ago) watching some Aussie motoring TV show where they took the territory, along with about 5 other soft-roaders (grand vitara, adventra, rav 4, some others i cant remember) and 2 proper ones (Prado, Pajero) and tested them in various conditions in the aussie outback, needless to say it got slaughtered by all of them except the Adventra. It got stuck in a fucking sandpit

[replicant_008]

I saw the Car Show review when I was over in Melbourne - it kind of misses the whole point about what a Territory (or for that matter the Escape/Tribute, X-Trail, Airtrek/Outlander) are all about.

The trad Aussie sedan sales have been static which is effectively a decline in a growing market. About one in four vehicles sold new in Oz are SUVs and the only reason most are AWD is because of the imported vehicle tax break for AWD. The Territory is locally made so can offer a cheaper alternative if AWD isn't required.

About half of the the Territory sales have been RWD in Australia - the whole point about the vehicle is that it's spacious, drives well, can lug loads and plenty of folk in comfort. I spend most of my time driving in a commute or heading out of town for diving/skiing... The Prado and the Pajero are undeniably better off-road but for ride comfort, handling on tarmac (particularly in roll) where most drivers spend the majority of their time. And towing the boat and heading up the ski-hill the AWD is more than adequate (in fact on wet roads having AWD is great compared to some of the part time systems in trade 4WD or even the system in the CRV and the Escape/Tribute which are FWD until something slips).

The Territory ain't going to get me to the back of Bourke but it ain't what I need. Based on the waiting list I had to get mine and judging by how many of our sales managers have opted for one the reason you haven't seen one outside a dealer is that they can't get stock...

[-Davo]

I still wuv my holdens.

[lamehonda]

what an ugly piece

[Jimster]

I actually find it quite attractive. Doesn't look as good as a Touraeg or X5, but better than most of the cock-ups that we call SUV's/SAV's.