THE new Fiat 500 has been voted Car of the Year 2008 by a jury of 58 motoring journalists representing 22 European countries.
The Fiat city car was placed ahead of runners-up Mazda2 and Ford Mondeo.
It is the second time that Fiat has won the award with a small car this decade following the success of the Panda in 2004.
It is also the 12th win for the Italian company in total, with others being the Fiat 124 (1967), Fiat 128 (1970), Fiat 127 (1972), Lancia Delta (1980), Fiat Uno (1984), Fiat Tipo (1989), Fiat Punto (1995), Fiat Bravo/Brava (1996), Alfa 156 (1998) and the Alfa 147 (2001).
Although only introduced in July, the Fiat 500 is the second best-selling small car in Europe with a market share of 14 per cent, beaten only by the Panda with a 21 per cent share.
The little car has already clocked up a number of accolades. It is the first time that such a small car has been awarded a five-star crash safety rating by Euro NCAP.
It is also the first time that a car in this segment has had seven airbags fitted as standard and it is also the only super-compact to fit a knee-bag, with the advanced ESP available on all models and standard on the 1.4-litre models.
Buyers can choose from 15 interior finishes, nine types of road wheel and 19 sticker treatments for a total of more than 500,000 variations.
More than 100 original accessories have been designed for the car, among which the most unusual are an electric aroma diffuser and colour-coded key fobs plus the most advanced infotelematic systems including a multifunctional portable navigator from Fiat’s Blue&Me platform.
The Car of the Year award started in 1964 and last year the honour was carried off by the Ford S-Max. To qualify, new cars must go on sale in at least five different European markets in the course of the year.
Judgments are expressed on design, comfort, safety, economic operation, driveability, performance, practicality, respect for the environment, price and value for money. A first selection is made from all the new models marketed in the course of the year.
This year 33 cars were involved and seven were short-listed. Each member of the jury has 25 points to distribute among the seven cars with a maximum of ten points going to their first choice.
The award ceremony, organised by German magazine Stern, will take place in Berlin on January 28.
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