RE: PH Awards 2012 - the winners!

[Gary C]

MarkRSi said:

Rawwr said:

Happy to see the GT86 there

+1 fully deserved IMO Genuinely surprised it didn't get outvoted by the M135i...

Saw my first gt86 last weekend and I really like the looks, especially the rear 3/4 view. Looked almost gtr like.

Pity I was driving our dicky 407 diesel and could not catch up for a better view.

On my want list. Should be a great 2 year old buy.

[Daggsy]

BMW Pricing !! Best BMW Option ....... BUY A TVR !!!

[georgetuk]

What great taste everyone on this website has!

Zanardi is well deserved especially. And that Deltawing, left-field entry in an increasingly competitive race series!

[ST200]

Zanardi - the only possible winner and what a winner he is proving to be - outstanding, truly outstanding. Hats off and glasses raised, an absolute inspiration to us all.

[lordlee]

I will admit this was the first year I have had anything approaching respect for Alonso. Xanardi is a true inspiration and I have massive respect for the man and his achievements, top, top sportsman.

[gemini]

Kimi!

[Garlick]

[redacted]

[RacerMike]

Not really sure about the GT86. Seems to generally have been a bit of a dissapointment to the motoring press who've driven it. Honestly, I think the M135i deserves it more....I suppose I should have voted really!

[Stuart]

RacerMike said:

.I suppose I should have voted really!

Yup...

[Porkie]

VeeDub Geezer said:

Hooray for the DeltaWing

agree! absolutely LOVE it!

off to watch chris harris drive it again now

[sv]

tomoleeds said:

Happy xmas to everyone at Piston Heads,!, Has anyone drove/bought one of the Toyota/suburau GT ,I have owned Wrx in the past and wondered how good they were.

I bought a GT86 - it's great (so long as you understand that you might need to adjust your driving technique to get the best out of it). The motoring press that doesn't get it seems to consist of power junkies (e.g. Evo) and folks looking for as much of an all-rounder as possible whenever they do their comparison tests (e.g. What Car). I do admit that it's a car you have to drive a few times to discover its potential.

[Rawwr]

RacerMike said:

Not really sure about the GT86. Seems to generally have been a bit of a dissapointment to the motoring press who've driven it.

Buh? Did I miss something?

[Davey S2]

Well done Mel.

Well deserved.

[RacerMike]

Rawwr said:

Buh? Did I miss something?

Not saying there's anything wrong with it, but EVO summed it up well in eCOTY by saying it didn't really live up to the expectations everyone had of it. I think they fully expected it to wipe the floor with eveything, but in reality it just slightly misses the boat.

http://www.evo.co.uk/carreviews/cargrouptests/2874...

EVO said:

As a result of these two things, and particularly when compared to the other, supremely talented cars here, it can feel a little bit uninvolving until you reach its limits. You sit so low and there’s so little roll because of that ankle-high centre of gravity that it seems completely unflustered right up until the tyres eventually start begging for mercy. And the steering, not helped by the weak tyres, doesn’t communicate with you quite enough about what’s happening twixt rubber and tarmac. In the others you can enjoy working and adjusting the balance of the different chassis long before the tyre grip gives out completely. In the GT86 you’re just joining the dots. It’s a bit like climbing a mountain on a foggy day where you suddenly almost stumble upon the summit and a wonderful view above the clouds, whereas in the others it’s like that same mountain on a sunny day: you get to enjoy the view on the way up too. With them it almost doesn’t matter if you don’t get to the top every time you venture on to the mountain.

It's a bit of a 'nearly' car at the moment. It's got the right ingredients, but it needs a little something else for my liking. If it had just a bit more character and power, it would be a sure fire winner...which is why the M135i seems to have gained such universal praise: power, handling balance of old BMWs, loads of character AND an incredible price.

Also...why did they let all the engineers ruin it? Why couldn't it have looked like the original concept!

[RichyBoy]

So now PH car of the year for the GT86. It just gets better and better every time you delve deeper into its genius, the perfect drivers car for the road. First rwd car I've had where I don't need driver aids on in the wet because it's so predictable.

Some other awards:
Top Gear Magazine "Speed Week" - 1st place
Autocar "Britain's Best Drivers Car" - 1st Place
Top Gear Magazine "Car of the Year" - 1st Place
Top Gear Magazine "Best Coupe of the Year" - 1st Place
Top Gear Magazine "JC best car of year" - 1st Place
Auto Express "Performance Car of the Year" - 1st Place
Autocar "Car of the year" - 1st place
Autocar "B Road Hero" - 1st Place
Wheels Magazine AU "Car of the Year" - 1st Place
Best Scottish Coupe Car of the Year
2012 Car of the Year in Australia at the annual Drive awards
Best Performance Car under $60,000 and won the People's Choice vote.
South African Guild of Motoring Journalists Car Of The Year 2013
US News declared the Scion FR-S as the best affordable sports car for the 2012
New Zealand Car of the Year 2012.
The Toyota 86 and Subaru BRZ were jointly named as the 2012 cars guide Car of the Year

Edited by RichyBoy on Thursday 27th December 02:21

[js281]

What, does that mean I can finally justify buying that £5k Chim on the grounds that it might go up in value, and if I'm lucky might not require me to sell my internal organs to keep it on the road?

I was going to get an S2000 instead for my weekend jollies, but if it's an investment we're talking about...

[Stuart]

js281 said:

What, does that mean I can finally justify buying that £5k Chim on the grounds that it might go up in value, and if I'm lucky might not require me to sell my internal organs to keep it on the road?

I was going to get an S2000 instead for my weekend jollies, but if it's an investment we're talking about...

Think of the award as man maths help. We're performing a public service really.

[Bezza1969]

Totally agree about GT86....

In fact there are 3 great new "hero" cars out there this year,

GT86/BRZ
M135i
and also the Focus ST, Im thinking of the estate, which is a proper decent performance car for the family guy, a poor mans Audi S4 in fact...

Lets hope there are more cars that can be enjoyed by the masses, next year!

[Bezza1969]

RichyBoy said:

So now PH car of the year for the GT86. It just gets better and better every time you delve deeper into its genius, the perfect drivers car for the road. First rwd car I've had where I don't need driver aids on in the wet because it's so predictable.

Some other awards:
Top Gear Magazine "Speed Week" - 1st place
Autocar "Britain's Best Drivers Car" - 1st Place
Top Gear Magazine "Car of the Year" - 1st Place
Top Gear Magazine "Best Coupe of the Year" - 1st Place
Top Gear Magazine "JC best car of year" - 1st Place
Auto Express "Performance Car of the Year" - 1st Place
Autocar "Car of the year" - 1st place
Autocar "B Road Hero" - 1st Place
Wheels Magazine AU "Car of the Year" - 1st Place
Best Scottish Coupe Car of the Year
2012 Car of the Year in Australia at the annual Drive awards
Best Performance Car under $60,000 and won the People's Choice vote.
South African Guild of Motoring Journalists Car Of The Year 2013
US News declared the Scion FR-S as the best affordable sports car for the 2012
New Zealand Car of the Year 2012.
The Toyota 86 and Subaru BRZ were jointly named as the 2012 cars guide Car of the Year

Edited by RichyBoy on Thursday 27th December 02:21

In fact the only UK mag out of step are "EVO" which is surprising given their mantra is "the thrill of driving". seems the EVO boys are more keen on outright grunt and grip than the pleasures of a simply set up RWD car after all...

[RacerMike]

Bezza1969 said:

In fact the only UK mag out of step are "EVO" which is surprising given their mantra is "the thrill of driving". seems the EVO boys are more keen on outright grunt and grip than the pleasures of a simply set up RWD car after all...

Or perhaps they just have their own opinion about it?! Have a read of the article and it makes sense. Remember that the Evora won car of the year a few years back which is hardly a rocket ship, and they included the Morgan 3 wheeler in it this year.

I know exactly where they're coming from as well. The Enviro tyres the 86 is on, aren't very nice on limit. They're not a performance tyre, so they're not designed for driving fast!