The new generation of PSA’s Leisure Activity Vehicle (LAV) – Citroen Berlingo, Opel Combo Life and Peugeot Rifter – won the 2019 Autobest award. A jury of 31 European journalists from 31 countries selects the winner taking into account different factors.
With a total of 14076 points, the PSA Triplets clinched first place by only 148 points over the new generation Ford Focus. Meanwhile, the 12th generation Toyota Corolla came in third place with a total of 13.846 points. Its result was only 82 points less than the one of the Focus. The Kia Ceed, Citroen C4 Cactus and second generation Dacia Duster followed in the overall rankings.
Olivier Bourges, Groupe PSA Executive Vice President Programs and Strategy says:
“Groupe PSA is very proud of this distinction awarded by this jury, made of automotive experts. This new recognition rewards teams’ work and illustrates the relevance of our development choices made with our Core Model Strategy, which aims are to propose the most adapted offer to our customers, differentiate our brands, and increase the efficiency of our investments and our dedicated resources.”
Dan Vardie, Founder and Chairman of Autobest, comments on this award:
“The Groupe PSA triplets victory is well-deserved for this new platform. A platform designed from the car perspective and requirements and able to deliver different personalities fitting each of the brand offer. A platform who convinced two international Juries from car and LCV perspectives and who will probably be one of the best sellers in incoming years. This is the first time in our history when we have a multiple winner. I am personally glad for the choice of Autobest Jury for this bodystyle as a true expression of a Best Buy Car of Europe.”
Since 2001, the Autobest “Best Buy Car of Europe” Award has recognised the vehicle models with the best price/performance/equipment ratio
13 criteria are in use for evaluation of the finalists. Among them are price-quality, design, comfort, technologies. The jury judges quality of services as well as the availability of spare parts in the networks of distribution.
After comparative tests among the 6 finalists, it is the model that totals the most votes that wins the award.
Autobest is the largest independent motoring jury in Europe as no less than 95% of the European population has representatives in the jury.
The ‘COMPANYBEST 2018’ award went to the Aston Martin Lagonda
The prize is a recognition of the incredible journey of the British company under the leadership of Dr. Andy Palmer and his management team. Dr. Palmer is already a distinguished member of the ‘MANBEST’ Hall of Fame featuring the best executives in the car industry. His arrival at the company signalled a fresh restart for the century-old marque. Meanwhile, the century plan introduced only a few years ago has already shown results making the company profitable. It also added some great new models which the market received very well. Moreover, under the new leadership, Aston Martin started a new journey as a luxury brand beyond cars.
The jury members voted for Hyundai’s Rear Occupant Alert as the winner of ‘SAFETYBEST 2018’ award
This pioneering system detects movements in the rear seats and acts to prevent parents from leaving a child in the back seat of a hot car. This feature is very helpful in protecting the lives of children in hotter countries where many cases of child death have occurred in recent times. Hyundai is an example for other brands to include this kind of systems in future car ranges. They are especially important in the family-oriented models.
The ‘SMARTBEST 2018’ award went to BMW for its Intelligent Personal Assistant
With this award, the jury recognized the great ability of BMW IPA to smoothly provide a wealth of information. It also has natural reactions to drivers’ needs while collaborating with other existing virtual assistants. The collaboration of multiple virtual assistants is what makes BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant a step forward.
The Jaguar I-Pace was the winner of ‘ECOBEST 2018’ award
The first electric Jaguar is also the first premium electric SUV to come from a European manufacturer. It is a courageous project from a company significantly smaller than Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, who all have competitors to the I-Pace planned. It is a game changer in the fast-growing segment of green cars.
