Car of the Year 2009

This year, Japan’s Car of the Year was rather dramatic with the challenger Honda Insight “low price hybrid” facing off directly against original Toyota Prius. The result was 433 points to the Prius and 391 to the Insight. The Prius won by a hair but this year’s result might be suggesting some changes of the times.

This year was a big turning point for hybrid cars. Practically the Prius used to be the only hybrid car but now hybrid cars changed from “special eco-car” to “car for normal people with average budget”. Imported Car of the Year, the top imported car went to Volkswagen Golf and Mitsubishi “i-MiEV” got the special prize of the “Most advanced technology”. It should be noted that these three cars are all eco-cars.

I do not think I need to write anything in detail about the Prius again but I personally think this is a well designed car. The solar panels on the roof made it possible to charge the battery using solar energy, it has power-mode although it is a hybrid car and the price starts from \2.05 million. It has everything average people want in a hybrid car.

To be honest, I did not expect the Golf getting the Imported Car of the Year title but having a look at the reasons, it was understandable. It seems hybrid cars stole the show everywhere this year but in reality, hybrid cars are still in a minority in Japan’s market. Most cars still have petrol engines which I believe will be the mainstream for a long while. Among these cars, the Golf is more efficient than the petrol cars and has many strong points. It is well-designed as a realistic eco-car. The Golf has good fuel-efficiency with the combination of a TSI fuel-efficient engine system and a high-efficiency but a sporty DSG transmission and it received a high evaluation because of all the things you want in a car, such as high safety performance, handling performance, fans, practical utility, etc, are packed in a good balance.

The last “i-MiEV” was like something coming out of a Science Fiction (SF) world. There have been quite a few electric cars developed and released by different car manufacturers, but they were experimental cars or cars for special promotion used in amusement parks and on a baseball ground when the pitchers change. However, this “i-MiEV” is a seriously-thought out mass-produced electric car which can actually go on public roads. It is not just another electric car but it is designed so that people can feel the “joy of driving” and “fun of handling” which is required as a standard car. It is like mobile phones 20 years ago when they first came to the world. Nowadays, they are compact things with multi-function and high performance but 20 years ago, they were as big as a lunch box. You can call people anywhere & any time: it was like an SF world coming true, wasn’t it? The “i-MiEV” is sophisticatedly designed and does not look ill-shaped but I felt the similar impact as the world’s first mobile phones.

For a car, to be eco-friendly was something extra and special; but from now on, with the year 2009 as the starting point, I think, having high eco-performance as the base, cars might diversify their character and other selling points.


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