The Hyundai Sonata (also known as the i40 and i45) has won the 2010 Australian International Design Awards in the Automotive and Transport category. This award is conferred to most innovative and best designs internationally.
The Hyundai ix35, which was also a finalist for the coveted award was awarded with a Design Mark. The reason for the two Hyundais doing so well in the Design awards is because of Hyundai’s new ‘Fluidic Scupture’ design direction.
Andre Hudson, Design Manager, Hyundai Design North America -
Fluidic Design is a Hyundai signature, a design language which will appear on future Hyundai volume models. It gives our range a unique and premium identity and defines Hyundai as a modern, progressive company. With i45, we wanted to deliver a strikingly modern shape, yet accommodate the wide variety of practical needs which sedan buyers require met.
This Design award is just one more feather in the new Hyundai Sonata’s cap as the new Sonata went off to a flying start setting sales records in many markets. The Hyundai Sonata with its upmarket looks and classy interiors poses a serious threat to global bestsellers Toyota Camry and Honda Accord.
The Honda CBF Stunner is most sought after entry level bike in Britain
Honda’s CBF Stunner 125 has proven it ability by winning the ‘Best Machine For New Riders’ award at the 14th Motor Cycle News (MCN) Awards.
This bike has been targeted towards beginners in UK and became this year’s best selling bike in the country. The bike is a blend of stylish looks, performance and reliability and this overall riding experience which this bike provides to its customers made it the choice of the panel of judges as the best choice for newcomers to two wheels.
As we have already mentioned in one of our articles earlier, Honda launched a new white-black paint scheme for CBF 125 in UK.
Apart from this the bike is also available with a couple of swish new top boxes, to hold 26 or 35 litres of stuff. The boxes cost £109.99 and £129.99 and are very useful for storing things like helmet, pizzas or any other material.
The new Ford Endeavour adds another feather to its hat
At the 2009 Car of the Year Awards show in Philippines, the judging panel recognized the capabilities of the new Ford Endeavour (named Ford Everest in select markets) by picking it as the best Mid-size 4×4 SUV.
The new 2009 Ford Endeavour 4×4 LTD, which received the award boasts of a 3.0L DuraTorq TDCi common-rail turbodiesel engine accompanied by a 5-Speed 4×4 automatic with electronic shift-on-the-fly.
Ford Group Philippines President Rick Baker -
We are honored to receive these titles for the Ford Everest and Ford Expedition. Once again, these are affirming testimonies of the best-in-class performance of our world-class vehicles. The recognition echoes the robust performance for both vehicles, being two of our most popular nameplates launched this year
click through to view the Ford Endeavour Image Gallery
The Polo is the European Car of the Year 2009. It will debut locally at Expo ’10
I haven’t known a car that’s held the honor of being the European car of the year as well as carrying ‘Made In India’ tag. Well, my wish is going to come true next year as the Volkswagen Polo was officially chosen as the 2010 European Car of the Year.
The Polo didn’t win it hands down. It narrowly escaped defeat by scoring slightly more than the Toyota iQ for the award.
The cars that went till the last round were the Opel/Vauxhall Astra, Skoda Yeti, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Peugeot 3008, and the Citroen C3 Picasso.
VW’s Polo despite being 7.5 percent lighter than the previous model, holds a five-star safety rating, a bigger body and slightly larger boot. Six different engine options are offered on the Polo in Europe.
click through to read the press release
Wagon R wins due to its well-known proportions and large number of followers
Although the award belongs to the 2009 model Wagon R which is sold in Japan, Indian owners don’t have an entirely different vehicle. While the structurally almost the same, the difference is under the hood. The Japanese version gets a 660cc engine with CVT and all-wheel drive as options.
The Suzuki Wagon R has been awarded 2009 Good Design Long Life Design Award by the Japan Industrial Design Promotion Organization.
The judging panel had this to say about the Wagon R -
The Wagon R established the type of minivehicle packaging in which there’s a tall body and a distinct bonnet. The styling has been changed with successive generations, but the fundamental dimensions have been carried forward and refined very well. The well-known proportions of the Wagon R have created a distinct automotive product category in which there have been many followers. The Wagon R is widely recognized for its user-friendliness and has become an iconic presence in Japanese living environments
Click through to read the press release
The Suzuki Splash (Ritz as we know it) has been awarded with the prestigious ‘Hungarian Quality Product’ certificate. The certificate is issued for the 12th year and this year, in the ‘Machines, units, equipment, vehicles’ category, the Splash was picked as the winner.
As the name describes, the certificate is issued to products that meet quality levels demanded by the judges. The Splash is mass-produced in Hungary and thus was eligible for receiving the award.
click through to read the press release
It is the 30th time the Fiat 500 is winning an international award, with 3,000 more waiting in line.
The 500′s 30th award was at the 2009 Auto Express Awards, for the second consecutive year, the 500 was given the best city car title.
The stylish Italian supermini was judged at Britain’s biggest weekly car magazine’s annual award function. It’s not the first time Fiat’s coming first, the Panda pocketed the same award for four years, before the 500 came into the scene.
4X4OTY – Four wheel drive of the year
The Suzuki Vitara DDiS is not available in India, people expected it, but it wasn’t to be.
The Suzuki Vitara DDiS (Fiat’s Multijet engine) version earned itself the title of Australia’s best compact SUV at the 4X4OTY contest, judged by the reputed 4WD magazine editors in the country.
The competition was no where near easy, some of the tough and proven vehicles sold here in India too – Volkswagen Tiguan, Toyota RAV4, Hyundai Tucson, Nissan X-Trail, Jeep Wrangler, Subaru Forester and Honda CR-V.
Judges loved its steering, suspension, seating as they ruthlessly carefully put the cars through the off-road evaluation course.
