2000s Car of the Year - were they a Peach or a Lemon?

[@wertywerrtyson5529]

I miss having so many MPVs. They are such practical cars. Instead we get big SUVs that somehow have less space and cost more.

[@jlcii]

OMG I totally agree with your statement! Even being here in the US, when we got a taste of mpvs like the Mazda 5 or the Kia Rondo, I loved how spacious those cars were while still maintaining a small footprint. But now, we've had a bunch of oversized, less practical, and less usable SUVs and crossovers.

[@Sacto1654]

@@jlcii This is why I really hope that once EV's really become practical with much smaller battery packs without losing range, I'd like to see Toyota bring a variant of the Sienta MPV to the US market.

[@s0m3cunt91]

That's why my wife drives a 10 year old Mazda 5, nothing newer on the market compares to the practicality. Modern cars also have too many unnecessary aids.

[@Waccoon]

Emphasis on less space. Man, I can't believe how SUVs get the priorities so backwards. Big on the outside, small on the inside! Never mind a spare tire, more and more of them don't even have a glovebox since "that's where we put the computer."

[@marcob1729]

I'm pretty sure that the less space thing has to do with safety. Even minivans are smaller inside these days

[@EyesWideOpen61]

These FIAT Pandas are the best city car ever, without a doubt. At the end of the segment you said ‘they still sell well today’ while showing the new Grande Panda- which isn’t on sale yet. And when it does arrive, it’s not a replacement for the Panda -which will remain on sale with a new name. Grande panda is the next class larger

[@iainmacleod4007]

I agree I owned three of them, all were the MultiJet model with the tiny diesel engine. Incredibly economical and easy to drive. I put a new set of budget tyres on mine for £100.

[@N1ckZ]

I very much disagree. I took my driving lessons and driving test on a 2012 Fiat Panda 1.3 diesel (I already knew how to drive before that) and regardless of how smoothly I tried to downshift, say from 3rd down to 2nd gear, it would be quite jerky. I have never had the same issue with any other car I've driven. My cousin also took driving lessons and the test with a Panda and had the same issue.

[@robontube12]

@N1ckZ I bought a used 2009 Model (169) and it is actually one of my favorite cars. Very reliable, very cheap to run and repair, of course not so comfortable but best value for money! I don't know about the diesel engine, mine is a 54 HP 1.1 liter petrol engine! If you have the chance, maybe try one of these!

[@piotrmalewski8178]

I own one from brand new with 1.1 engine iteration Euro 3. It's been perfectly reliable except for two minor issues. The newer Panda is another story. 0.9 4x4 with dualmass flywheel suffers gearbox damage every 80k km, and 1.0 Hybrid (Firefly) reliably suffers belt tensioner failure about every 50k km. The latter is not expensive but lets down on the road. I work in a car fleet, administrating servicev of 400 cars a month. Every single month I have at least one Hybrid Panda towed with the same issue.

[@toyotaprius79]

I think it's more glaringly problematic that Stellantis/FCA poured money into a brand new EV architecture for just one model being the 500e and no other variant of car, no Panda, no Opel Adam, no Citroen C1/C2/CZero. To add insult to injury the 500e is built alongside Maseratis in Turin instead of being built in eastern Europe. To top it all off is the inefficient jumble of different platforms, the grande Panda is a b segment shared with the ëC3, the 600e is shared with the ëC4 and other sister cars. All the while the sole A segment EV (500e) that was cynically placed too upmarket is gathering dust and numerous production line halts. It would've been much more resourceful to make 3 FIATs on the same platform, create an EV Panda"lina" and a Giardinia mini-estate of the 500e be it a more faithful recreation of the 600e instead of some tacky crossover.

[@rustybucket9165]

Would like to make just a general comment. I've been following your channel for years and very much appreciate your hard work. One can tell you put a lot of effort into your videos and do lots of research. Very enjoyable, entertaining and educational for a car nut like me. Thank you!

[@thattubesound2214]

I whole heartedly second your general comment!

[@flemmingsorensen5470]

And not a single "taped-on iPad" in any of these cars 👍👍👍☺️

[@lakrids-pibe]

I have a friend who owned a Fiat Multipla and was very happy with it. Not despite its appearance, but BECAUSE it looks so different and quirky. I think the idea behind the design was to create something unique and practical in the spirit of the old classics like the 2CV and the Renault 4.

[@MrDuncl]

Some had a factory applied sticker on the rear window "Wait until you see the front".

[@sameyers2670]

My now ex stepdad had a Multipla he bought new in 2003 and we found it to be a great car

[@OnionChoppingNinja]

Parents of a friend of mine back in elementary school (2002) had one. Definitely estheticly challenged but you will be hard pressed to find a car that was more practical. They owned it to at least 2014 (haven't seen that guy since 2012 and moved out of that town in 2014)

[@Pandamasque]

#justice4Multipla

[@igorkratka]

Yeah, was driven in it for a month as a child. Back then I considered it to be an interesting car. Definitely did not see anything being wrong about it.

[@2rocship]

James May liked the 2004 winner. The same car effectively won again in 2008 (the Panda and 500 share the same Haynes manual!)

[@RachaelSA]

My brother had one of those 147''s with a V6 engine and he lent it to me for a few months and it was one of the nicest cars I ever drove.

[@fryfrysk]

My wife drives a 2006 Alfa 147 Distinctive 150 Hp petrol engine It now has run almost 277 .000 km . Regular maintanance by a Alfa specialist , who defines its engine running like a young girl : no oil use or leakages. The car is blesssed with its own garage , so both interior and exterior are looking great. . She does not want a new or other car , because its beige leather interior and dash makes her smile everytime . When we met in 1974 , she drove a Porsche ( totallloss ) and onwards an MG , so the last 18 ears she takes it a bit easier ( accident free) now being almost 82 y . Her secrets : an Alfa Romeo and a younger husband. LOL

[@RachaelSA]

@@fryfrysk The one my brother lent me was a 3.2L V6 GTA, I'm not sure what year or what horsepower (google says 247hp), but it was fast. Very very fast. And such a comfortable car to drive. It also had the strangest gears, like you could put it in one mode and it was automatic, or you could change the mode and drive it like a manual, using the gear leaver, or just change gears with the paddles on the steering wheel. It was an amazing car to drive.

[@fryfrysk]

@@RachaelSA Indeed the V6 is very fast 😀. Gear shifting in the 2.0 petrol is exactly like the 3.2 V6, in 3 ways, of shifting

[@thermidorthelobster4645]

Kudos to Renault for consistently experimenting and not just pushing out the same bland boxes.

[@vernonbear]

I owned a 307, it was a company car, it was comfortably the most average car I’ve ever used. Nothing bad, nothing good, just the blandest vehicle. The Panda 4x4 is the car of choice out here in Derbyshire when it snows, yes the Land Rovers and Toyotas are here for those who have the cash but the little Fiat is the car for those who don’t have the readies. The 500. Holy cow what an unreliable beast that is, a brief look at the auto forums will show that it’s an electronic nightmare with the bills to match. My ex owns one and it’s a money pit. Years one and two were fine but after that it has been a succession of trips to the garage for repairs. It’s a nice spirited drive and it’s got character so that’s a plus I suppose.

[@F.S92]

Bought the 2004 Panda. Aside from the horrifying "automatic" transmission, the car is flawless even to this day. Zero issues!

[@piotrmalewski8178]

Check for chassis corrosion, have it repaired and afterwards have stringers and doorstep profiles sprayed with waxoil from the inside and don't 'upgrade' to new ones! Except for corrosion, the old Panda is virutally immortal, but in the new one, hybrid belt tensioner fails every 50 k km halting the car on the road, and 1.0 FireFly burns engine oil from new. I work in car fleet and have to tow these Hybrid Pandas all the time.

[@F.S92]

​@piotrmalewski8178 nope, no rust here man. Went to a shop to change oil 4 months ago. Aside from early signs of rust on the exhaust (witch the mechanic said is not bad and can be sanitised). Its completely rust free 😊 Granted my country has very easy winters

[@2rocship]

@@piotrmalewski8178I bought a 2004 1100cc Panda a couple of years ago. It had only done 20k miles (an elderly lady had owned it). Since then, I’ve doubled the mileage, added a towbar, upgraded the stereo and speakers, changed the timing belt. Touch wood, it’s not missed a beat

[@piotrmalewski8178]

@@F.S92 I'd still give it waxoil to closed profiles and the water trap on top of front stringers, behind the McPherson.

[@andrewcocos]

"horrifying automatic transmission" is quite enough of red flag, thank you.

[@toyotaprius79]

Can't beat the Panda. Unless you're a gaggle of out of touch and incompetent executives in Stellantis

[@slightlyBaldBatman]

I used to work in a car bodyshop. We had 12 courtesy cars. 4 of which were pandas. The others were astras and clios. The pandas were by far the most reliable. Regular services, tyres and rear shock absorbers are all they ever needed. One got a new clutch thanks to an elderly client. The clutch cost less than a hundred quid and only took 2 hours to change. I love pandas.😅

[@piotrmalewski8178]

Sadly new ones are not reliable.

[@kevinjones3900]

The motor retailer i used to use panda's to lend to customers when they put their cars in for repairs. But when we got hold of them you could sit in the passenger seat and push the brake servo on the crossover bar. Your mate driving had no clue what was going on why he couldn't pull off or the brakes activated when driving. Had some fun with that design floor.

[@halitosis75]

The fiat 500 ❤❤❤for me. Beautiful design thanks for the great uploads.❤❤

[@MikeDiscusses]

I still use a Peugeot 307 today with well over 800,000km on the odo. Still ready to go anywhere and looks good. The jury didn’t miss that one. Still looks relatively modern and beautiful even now and has a decent interior

[@MallocFree90]

The 147 sold well, maybe not in the UK, but I can still find many on the road around Europe.

[@commonasmuck1234]

Like many Alfas, it was underdeveloped on launch in order to hit a price point. With the right tweaks, it’s a great driver’s car, and the styling is gorgeous. Still loving mine in 2024.

[@jlcii]

3:25 there was nothing wrong with the way the Renault megane looked. It was a stylish and attractive looking hatchback. The only people that don't like them are people that think nilla wafer styled cars are more desirable. Which I know, sadly, is a lot of the automotive market.

[@stevelanghorn1407]

Thanks for an excellent series of "Cars of the Decades" videos Andy.

[@mikegan73]

The Alfa 147 was a really nice looking car.

[@commonasmuck1234]

Still is!

[@jochenstacker7448]

I had that model Panda and I absolutely loved it.

[@ArmySigs]

Dude, the 147 was a worthy winner! Anyone who has owned one will tell you they handle like a Go Kart, more reliable than any contemporary German car, and is most definitely an Alfa!

[@Torero2901]

Absolutely. Great little car for great value. ❤ 300 km in 1.5 hours 🎉

[@romanobezuidenhout7506]

Got a new 147 in 2001and still got it today. Everything still works today, even the Selespeed. Totally reliable to this day and can still keep up with most new cars on a twisty back road.

[@dant5464]

I had a Panda 100hp from 2012 until this year - it was a great car and a lot of fun, but at 16 years and 92000 miles it was starting to get a bit hairy each year come MOT time.

[@toyotaprius79]

What were its main sore spots? Rust, gaskets, suspension?

[@dant5464]

@toyotaprius79 It was mostly fine. I kept up with preventative maintenance like oil changes. I spotted the top radiator hose being bulged/soft a couple years ago and changed that out, it had a new thermostat at one point as well (fortunately stuck open, rather than closed). Suspension ok, occasional bits changed like a drop link or wishbone due to worn bushings but it didn't go through them far quicker than it should have. Last few years, needed some welding on the sills by the back wheels and it would have needed the parts the rear bumpstops plug in to replacing. AC still worked, though sounded slightly rattly for the first minute in the last year of ownership. Surface corrosion on the rear beam, but we wire brushed and hanmerite'd it. Had a new mid section and flexi, but the rest of the exhaust was still original including the back box. Occasional fault code for the throttle position sensor - clear it, it drives fine for months or years before throwing it again, probably a temperamental earth I never tracked down. Some Pandas had a problem with the torque sensors on the electric steering rack but this was never an issue for me.

[@piotrmalewski8178]

​@@dant5464One would be lucky to have that little trouble with a car. Nowadays it's 100k miles and 3-5k euros worth of spares is needed to get emission control working again, while engines burn oil like wrecks from brand new.

[@benholroyd5221]

@@toyotaprius79 I had a Panda with 100k+ miles on it. the mechanicals were all kind of fine. the engine leaked oil a bit, the radiator leaked a bit. the heating had gone due to a plastic flap breaking (requires a complete dash removal to fix) power steering intermittently stopped working. No massive problems, everything is easy and cheap to fix, it was more death by a 1000 cuts. It cost £425(?) in 2018, so it wasn't the best specimen to start with. actually scrapped it for more in 2022. Still loved it though. wish I had kept it. Nothing more fun the ragging a £400 under powered car around B roads. the 1.2 (or 100hp) is the one to go for. and the heating issue mentioned is unfortunately fairly common.

[@landmonkey22]

Panda was a great little car , James May. Loves them too 😂

[@applejuice5272]

*James:* " You exploited the diminutive dimensions of my car to fondle my leg!" *Jeremy:* "Rubbish! Rubbish!"

[@lindonandlisa8114]

thanks so much just loving it, great to look back at all those cars and think we're are they now

[@gaufrid1956]

My late wife in Australia owned a Gen 2 Prius from 2007 until her death in 2015. It was an excellent car and a worthy winner of the European Car of the Year award. Reliable and hyper economical. A surprisingly good highway cruiser as well.

[@Ethan2xm85]

I did almost all motorway miles on my 07 when I had it, and it really does ride like a bigger car. I had a VW Golf before that and the difference was night and day.

[@68404]

Plenty of them have done 400K km on their original battery and still going strong.

[@Adrian-kl2ql]

These videos are excellent entertainment over the festive period

[@thomasfrancis5747]

Appreciate the amount of work you have put into this series. One thing the Clio did was provide a platform for Dacia and so lived on in significant volumes.

[@thattubesound2214]

Thank you for all the hard work you do to make your excellent presentations. I've enjoyed every single one, with my favorite being your take on the Mazda MX-5. Please keep them coming. I really enjoy the European/UK slant to your coverage. I'm in the States, and our cars are BORING! Michael in Champaign, Illinois, USA.

[@Michel-r6m]

Good morning from a cloudy Netherlands.

[@physicswithpark3r-x3x]

Lekker weertje, he?

[@gwheregwhizz]

There's always been a correlation between advertising spending and the winner of magazines (especially What Car and Autocar) cars of the year. Classic example is when Rover heavily promoted the Rover 100 in the early 90s. It got great reviews when Rover was handing over £££s ... until the cash ran out and practically overnight became a 1 star.

[@WillHainsworth-c2j]

Nice to see the New Zealand Toyota Echo 'Pied Piper' advertisement again! They sold very well here. The Rav4 ad from the same time was great, too, as were the Hilux 'bugger' ads.

[@michaelharrison1093]

I bought two brand new 6th generation Ford Fiestas - the first and last year that this car was on sale in the US - both with manual transmissions. A really great car with sublime handling at and beyond the limit.

[@MrDuncl]

Were they ever sold as an economy car there or just in the hot versions? After learning to drive in one, a penny pinching colleague has bought nothing but Fiestas with his latest being a 6th gen. The local hospital used to run a fleet of about twenty Fiestas for nurses to make home visits etc. Now they are discontinued it will be interesting to see what they get next, although Ford Pumas wouldn't be a surprise.

[@michaelharrison1093]

@@MrDuncl They were sold as an economy car in the US and the vast majority were fitted with the very troublesome dual clutch automatic. All the Ford dealers tried as hard as they could to encourage all their buyers to take the dual-clutch option (something I am sure sure Ford regrets today with all the law suits over this gearbox). To get a manual transmission meant that you had to specifically order in advance from your dealer. The first one I purchased was the top trim SES model and the next one I purchased was the ST model. When the ST model came out there was a bit less resistance from the dealers to sell one but to get this transmission option you had to order it and pay a considerable down payment before Ford would commit to building it. Prior to living in the USA I had bought a brand new 5th generation Fiesta and I was really impressed by the driving dynamics and limit handling of this car - my other cars included some full on track orientated cars such as a GP2 RS2000 Escort and a JDM Subaru 22B. When I say that I am impressed with the driving dynamics and limit handling of the later model Ford Fiesta - this is based in comparison to some really sorted track orientated cars I have driven.

[@MrDuncl]

@@michaelharrison1093 Ford usually put a lot of effort into handling. If you don't know the Fiat 500 Abarth borrowed the suspension setup from the standard Ford Ka (based on the same platform but with the usual Ford suspension tweaks).

[@michaelharrison1093]

​@MrDuncl the MK6 Fiesta was actually based off the original Focus platform which was the platform for their WRC cars. When you look at the design of the Fiesta it has dual front cross-members which make the body really rigid. The only criticism with the ST is that the ride is really harsh as a daily driver but for blasting down B roads at 9/10's it is hard to beat (apart from my wife's modified BRZ)

[@neilmustow368]

One the last great Car of the year winners the Fiat Panda in 2004 a great video Series Andy

[@jamescurnick1637]

Love this series of vids. Thanks very good indeed! 😀

[@mrjsv4935]

I'm surprised that the early 2000's VW Polo wasn't even in the top 7 group, did they hate the two round headlights per side that much :D

[@TotallyNotASpy1]

Right? I can't understand why people disliked the design so much, it's such a cute little runabout! I own one and i love the heck out of it

[@ilgwent8061]

To my opinion, has been the worst looking Polo ever especially coming after the '95 generation wich remain the best looking One.

[@N1ckZ]

A design that hasn't aged well.

[@mrjsv4935]

@@TotallyNotASpy1 My mom had the facelifted 2005 Polo and it was good car. To me, round headlights looked a bit out of place those days, but the facelifted Polo looked nice. Still wondering why the pre-facelifted Polo was so far from the top, as it was no doubt a good car.

[@TotallyNotASpy1]

@@ilgwent8061 fair, the 6N did look very good, especially the GTi version. Still think the 9N is underrated, with the right mods it can look very pretty! If only said mods weren't so hard to find...

[@1985_Honda_CRX_Si]

Renault definitely got it right with the 1st and 2nd gen clios, i wish they got the fiat panda treatment and weren't changed until now too

[@roysoutdoorlife]

I never understood why the 147's handling got slated, I've owned a couple and they had endless grip, especially the 4 pot petrols. Yes, the ride was a bit harsh and it wore suspension bushes pretty quickly, but it was never trying to be a Merc or BMW. It also never suffered from lift-off oversteer like other hatchbacks (the Peugeot with its beam axle) thanks to independent rear suspension and front double wishbones. You could really throw them about, especially the the little 1.6 petrol - they didn't fit stability control to that one! My 147s have also been incredibly reliable.

[@commonasmuck1234]

Mine still is. I added a Quaife diff, and it powers right through every corner. Greatly under-appreciated car.

[@roysoutdoorlife]

@commonasmuck1234 great mod that diff!

[@TrevorBuick]

Great series of videos 👍

[@SquidwardhatesEVs]

Great video, Keep up the great work pal.

[@heint8169]

The hybrid became the norm.

[@toyotaprius79]

And when it has become old hat 10 years ago, now all of a sudden hybrids are "the future" in spite of full electric cars.

[@Noah_E]

​@toyotaprius79 I would pick a hybrid or PHEV over a pure EV any day of the week. I just did a 352 mile round trip last weekend. It was below freezing the entire time, snowing on Saturday and 16F Sunday. No EV could have made that trip and arrive home with a quarter tank (range) left.

[@mauritsvw]

@@toyotaprius79 Most countries don't have established charging networks for EVs, and there hybrids make perfect sense (if you can afford the premium they cost over their conventional counterparts).

[@zzhughesd]

Nice mini series. Always good content. Who doesnt click on a BigCar

[@elliot7452]

Seriously loving this series. I like all your videos. When are you coming back to Japan? Love to show more of this country's cool cars.

[@BigCar2]

No plans right now.

[@BOABModels]

Wow, the Panda won it twice!

[@mea_sapientia_supra_tua]

Prius - iconic and fantastic car of the future.

[@NickAsh-jl5nq]

I had 2 different FiatMultipla’s Driving over 100000 kms in each ,excellent reliable,very spacious vehicle,the perfect car when you have 4 boys,as we did at the time,then had a Fiat panda sport,fun car for cheap thrills.Thank you big car 🙏

[@ilgwent8061]

Yaris, Panda 🐼 and Prius all well deserved the title. The rest is just meh

[@Slipstream179]

I think the 500 can be added to the list. Whilst I don't like them, their legacy is incredible

[@zzhughesd]

Sold an 0505 and an 0303 Yaris other day. 03 a little tired. The 0505 drove lovely. Like new. Hard trick pull off

[@piotrmalewski8178]

​@@zzhughesdBad decision.

[@jeffking4176]

This has been an interesting series so far. 🚗🙂

[@bigglesalgy1]

Hi Big Car off topic but could you do a story on the Unimog?

[@BigCar2]

Sorry, I don't have much interest in Mercedes.

[@OneDullMan]

I do like the Multipla. Probably cause it is SaaB quirky. And wow is the Megane sweeeet

[@jonathanw844]

Thanks for keeping in the blooper!

[@BigCar2]

Mostly they're boring bloopers, but this one was fun.

[@Commentator541]

Some of these were truly gorgeous cars. Fiesta looked crazy good when it came out, same for he 147.

[@michaelloach9461]

Thanks for another great vid! It just goes to show that just because the car wins 'European Car of the Year' customers will buy something they want...or is just good sales staff? All the best...

[@angusmckay871]

Intresting to hear the Yaris didn't sell well in Europe, they are everywhere in New Zealand and Australia.

[@juliangrcuffini]

They are everywhere here in Italy

[@carlarrowsmith]

It didn't sell as well as the big hits in Europe like the Fiesta, Polo, Clio but it was a vast improvement on its Toyota predecessor sales wise. They build a factory in France to build them locally too.

[@guaqua]

They are everywhere in Finland as well. Old ones are typically used by food couriers. Yarises seem to outlast other super minis by a fair margin.

[@notroll1279]

In most European countries, Toyota previously had aggressively sold their cars on price, so most people expected Toyota to be cheaper than competition. The Yaris was one of the first models with a more self-assured pricing - so, many consumers bought European again.

[@carlarrowsmith]

@notroll1279 The Yaris was more expensive when it first came out than the Corolla here in the UK when all the discounts were applied. Very unusual for a smaller car to be more expensive. My friends had one of the first Yaris's and it was a great car, he used to put on 80's tapes on the way to university in 2000, great times.

[@Jeffrey_M]

Least deserving cars of that decade in order. 1. Peugeot 307 (utterly bland and average and badly built) - 2. Renault Megane (unreliable rubbish) - 3. Alfa 147 (was like a shorter 156, but less good). - 3. Opel Insignia (Utter disaster with CDTi engine. Did not move things on drastically from Vectra) 4. Renault Clio (Average supermini that was heavier and with little innovation). Some of those cars were clear patriotic votes.

[@BassMessiah100]

Remember the Yaris commercials with the aliens? Good stuff

[@kieranfitz]

Ireland just voted for toyota every year

[@vitesh89]

VW golfs, and the ford focus's were great all rounders from this era and their model range was flexible. I also liked Subaru impreza's and Mitsubishi lancers, great everyday fun cars.

[@theblackhand6485]

But was the Alfa 147 a drivers car? Yes: the 147 GTA !

[@ilmaurizetazetaerre]

having seeing your car of the year run so far I can say the car journalists were high on some heavy drug everytime they had to express their vote!

[@andrewharvey2818]

The Echo became the Yaris in New Zealand, probably because of the number of used imports coming in from Japan overwhelming the local variant. The Echo ad looked very familiar and it seems had NZ rego plates. Could this have been an ad for western markets with the front vehicles plates changed for local "authenticity"?

[@darksquarebishop2512]

Comparing th 00s to the 80s /90s , we can see that the styling of cars starts to deteriorate if reliability and quality was at its peak. An exeption (though biased) would be the Ford Fiesta, still a fresh design and a really good solid car that lasts forever. And the decade where my favorite brands PSA and Gruppo Fiat , started to produce some very bland or even mediocre cars,with the possible exeption of C4 Citroen. Well even the amazing BMW went a bit ugly in my eyes compared to the masterpieces of the 1990s( E36, E39)

[@semiretired86]

the Yaris was and still is a succes in Europe

[@martinneumann7783]

It’s nice to see german commercials in your videos… 😊

[@psp0guy]

The panda for me is the pure essence of what environmentally conscious and sustainable motoring should be. Simple light and easy to manufacture cars seem to have been forgotten about now that we’re being forced into 2+ tone extremely complex electric SUV’s.

[@oldesertguy9616]

I love that FIat 500 commercial.

[@yudhabagaskara98]

2:49 the Peugeot 307 commercial was aired in Indonesia back in 2002

[@UncleJoeLITE]

Even a Test match only lasts 5 days Andy! 🎉

[@ronwhite8503]

But a test match seems like five weeks.

[@UncleJoeLITE]

@ronwhite8503 Nah, there's nothing in sport like everything coming down to the final session on Day 5! Imho ofc. 🥇

[@paulreynolds1510]

Surprise Toyota, didn’t get a mention before this episode, knowing what the Corolla was like. I’ve had one of the worlds first MPV hybrids from Toyota was Surprisingly, good, as I drove the normal one and the hybrid version both had the 2.4 petrol engine

[@The_R-n-I_Guy]

We saw very few of these cars in the States. Unfortunately the ones we got, weren't the ones we wanted

[@bjornakerblom6458]

Very nice Christmas series you have made! In 2025, do you think you could make an episode with the quirky looking Lancia Thesis?

[@BigCar2]

Sorry, no plans to do that.

[@Barry101er]

Ahhh, the Peugeot 306. I miss you.

[@applejuice5272]

1:27 Ah, the Rover James!

[@physicswithpark3r-x3x]

How come a Yaris is more roomy than a Jag?

[@williammorris1384]

Amongst plenty of other things, Toyota do practicality very well. This isn’t a “ requirement “ for Jaguar . Despite the grace / space/ pace strap line ! I had a 4.9 metre long XF, with probably worse rear leg room than a 3.9 metre Mercedes A class !

[@alaricbragg7843]

I knew two people who had Alfa Romeo 147s. The cars looked awesome but cost a king's ransom in constant repairs!

[@av_oid]

Opel Insignia: The car that as the “Holden Commodore” killed Holden in Australia for good.

[@visionmodernclassics3062]

Unbelievable how long the Ford SMax was produced..till 2023. i don’t know why sporty MPVs are no more in focus of the OEMs…so many Family fathers wish a sporty spaciouse Van

[@mattrussell801]

This idea of the What Car of year was great. Only feel you could have dug in a bit more per year. I'm missing some of your details, feels a little rushed...

[@faustinaadu2284]

I’m pretty sure the S Max sold very well. Just that people moved on to hopeless SUVs instead

[@pyrexmaniac]

Id have killed for an S-max....they were such a great design....clean, conservative, functional, roomy, reliable. Ford has been shafting North America for years now. Why dont we ever get the best Ford designs? It's the same now with their Chinese vehicles.

[@khelifimohamedzakaria776]

2005 - 2015 Golden age of cars

[@thegameshowgeek]

I wish the Panda was sold stateside, they seem like unpretentious and reliable small cars. But I know tiny cars don’t sell here, so I’m gutted.

[@truebluemiata]

Being from the States I'm not aware of the criteria the ECOTY judges use. However, it seems that high marks are given for blandness and appliace factor. Where's the fun in these winners? The top cars in the US mags are usually quite a bit of fun.

[@piotrmalewski8178]

It's somewhat value for money contest. There were separate contests for Sports Car of The Year, Luxury Car of the Year etc.

[@mpchess1379]

1:16 by europe you mean UK. I still see plenty of yaris, an eye sore back in the 2000's, it was just before europe succumbed to buying only diesel. 5:55 the s-max was a pandemic there used to be so many of these, many in white as white was very fashionable at the time, the soot on the bumper, not so much. 07:27 the mark vii gen fiesta was very very popular unfortunately it deviated too much from the concept the facelift corrected that though by that point it became a lot less popular in europe.

[@gunterrr2302]

Damn the judges really got it seriously wrong in the early years. The Renault Mégane was notoriously unreliable and the Alfa Romeo 147 and Peugeot 307 were just terrible cars.

[@williamegler8771]

The judges weren't judging the long-term reliability/durability.

[@doctoremil2678]

With all three the post-facelift cars are the ones to choose, since many problems were corrected.

[@bluwusky5167]

This series has been pretty interesting so far, lots of unexpected winners. Just gonna say though, I'm glad the Vauxhall Corsa didn't win in '07, that would have been entirely undeserved as the Corsa D is a huge letdown of a car. It handles well enough, and interior space is average but the ride is too hard, the seats are too hard, everything is so overassisted that you have no idea what the wheels are doing, the gears are too short, the 1.4 petrol is responsive and sounds nice but is also very thirsty, the standard tyres on the base model are too big and can rub on the arches, there is no useful interior storage, the 3-door model has the biggest blind spots of any car I've ever been in and is very dark inside, the whole thing feels thrown together by apes and all the parts you touch (door handles, sun visors and such) are stiff and brittle, like they might break off in your hand. Vauxhall can do so much better than that, so it's a real shame they didn't bother to just because the Corsa was cheap

[@rabit818]

Multipla = cars only the manufacturers could love

[@Pyjamarama11]

aah yes the industry awards As impartial as a KZbin algorithm in the comments section 😂

[@Noah_E]

I have a cousin who swerved to avoid a deer and end up hitting a guard rail in a 2003 Echo (Yaris). He was seriously hurt because the vehicle folded like tin foil. Toyota should be ashamed for producing such a dangerous vehicle.

[@pismak]

Fiestas of this generation were produced in Mexico state in Cuautitlán Izcalli plant. At least for US and Canada. MT were reliable, but AT gave mixed results and long mileage ones are a lottery. I think the american 1.6 engine of this american car was not really good at torque in low revs compared with competitors like Nissan.

[@autumnmatthews3179]

My Fiat 500 really is like a TARDIS inside as I discovered when moving home!

[@alliejr]

I’m starting to suspect these selections are 99% driven by payola 🤔🙄. Also weird that non-all-new models are considered- completely different than U.S. MotorTrend Car of the Year and Import Car of the Year.

[@CarringtonHollister]

My band teacher had a 2nd gen Prius in pewter

[@pau-pauaninao3978]

"Opegle"...? ... Omega?

[@macchiatomachiato]

the prius is just a really really dull car

[@marcob1729]

I’ve never understood Europe’s lack of love for Toyota and Honda

[@greghayes5712]

Simply because they kept wanting to support their own manufacturers, so French bought French cars, Brits bought Brit cars etc even though when buying them they knew they’d be troublesome. Here in Ireland we had no national allegiance and quickly realised within a few years of their launch here in the 70s how good Toyota were & they’ve been pretty much at the top of the market ever since. Even the British buy them in big numbers now having finally realised the rubbish that they made themselves had to end

[@typxxilps]

none of the cars of the first 3 minutes would have come to my mind for being european car - none of those was selling well nor being reliable. I do not know how they are choosing this award but the car award close to never had a choice I could have agreed to based on sales figures. All the french italian ones did not make it here. They were famous for rust - rotten away within 10 years at least here. In 2010 they were thrown in the scrapyard cause owners would get 5000€ grant to buy a new car after that 2008 financial crisis ... where so many countries had to been saved with our money from ireland over iceland and greece. the lost decade and the biggest erosion of the Euro and lowest interest rates everywhere cause otherwise all the weak southern european € countries would have seen no more growth at all.

[@piotrmalewski8178]

3 cans of waxoil spray inside bodyshell profiles, repeat every 5 years and it prevents corrosion on any car if done right.

[@kippaseo8027]

I was a college student in 1999 when Toyota unbailed the Echo. Toyota was seriously Trying to promote both the echo and theAll new Toyota celica . Even as a huge Toyota fan I couldn't get past the weirdness of the unattractive Echo. Toyota has not been able to make a decent subcompact offering since it dropped the Tsrcel in 98.

[@CarringtonHollister]

My neighbors got a mint colored Fiesta sedan

[@vals88]

Clio 3 was the best Clio ever

[@bigsarge2085]

🎄✌️