Auto Foto Market
Tomaz Porekar (Slovenia)
My judgement is based on following grounds:
Volkswagen Polo: As the cars are growing bigger and bigger, the new Polo is actually Golf as it used to be: small enough to get into most of parking lots all over Europe! Also having enough space in the car (for ankles, knees, taller women and men, and even four of them) Polo is providing everything we usually had expected from Golf. Additionally Volkswagen has also provided most of the technology of its more expensive cars. This makes Polo a great choice to pick out in this crowded ultra compact car segment. The dual clutch automatic gearbox provides for the enjoyment of the combination of sportiness and fuel economic driving. Polo also offers smoothness and nearly noiseless drive. Last but not least Polo Blue Motion shows where the future for combustion engines of green cars begins.
Opel Astra: Good approach, translating the bigger Insignia into a smaller class, but not enough leg room in the second row to be my first choice. Despite that fact I liked the outside styling of Astra very much, it being a pleasant and dynamic car, especially in better equipped versions! As expected, Opel also made some effort to get the pricing right which will give the Astra a bigger chance to succeed in the tough competition in the biggest European car segment.
Toyota iQ: A good idea for big city traffic but not a right solution for such markets as ours where inexpensive cars rule and premium has to be a grown up car. On the other side, I have to give great compliment to the Toyota engineers to provide a great design for a small car that is so spacious. Until now nobody did such a great job making a small car so big!
Skoda Yeti: Skoda has succeeded transforming the view on what an SUV’s appearance and function should be. Now everybody can afford to have an SUV that is worth of its price. And it is so easy to drive it off-road, although nobody is aiming for that. Yeti is such a good answer to people who are questioning the idea of using an SUV in our postmodern time!