Honda Holds The Rest At Bay For 2008

Newcastle Herald

Wednesday December 3, 2008

Brent Davison

HONDA'S Accord V6 has been named Drive Car of the Year for 2008, the Thai-built car coming in ahead of 41 rivals.

Winning praise for an electronic cylinder deactivation system that automatically turns the six-cylinder engine into a four-cylinder or even a three-cylinder job, the Honda also beat three Australian-made cars, Ford's FG Falcon, Holden's VE Commodore and Toyota's Aurion, to take the Best Large Car category, the first time an imported vehicle has managed to do so.

The Honda's victory led another first, with Kia's Rondo 7 the first car from a Korean maker to win a Drive COTY class.

In terms of class winners, six were from Europe, three from Japan, two from Korea and one each from Australia and Thailand.

DRIVE CAR OF THE YEAR CLASS WINNERS

Best Small Car under $20,000:

Mazda 2 Neo

Best Small Car over $20,000:

Mazda 3 Maxx

Best Medium car: Ford Mondeo

Best Large Car: Honda Accord V6

Best Convertible:

Audi A3 Cabriolet

Best People Mover: Kia Rondo 7

Best Performance Car under $60,000:

Volkswagen Golf GTI

Best Performance Car over $60,000:

BMW 135i

Best Luxury Car under $60,000:

Audi A4 1.8T

Best Luxury Car over $60,000:

Jaguar XF 2.7d

Best 4WD under $40,000:

Renault Koleos Dynamique

Best 4WD over $40,000:

Toyota LandCruiser GXL diesel

Best Utility: Holden SS

Car of the Year: Honda Accord V6

© 2008 Newcastle Herald

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