New car news

22 January 2009 - 11:00

Czech's mate

Earth-shattering news: the Czech Republic has announced its 2009 Car of the Year, and the winner is… the Skoda Superb!

Now then. The Superb is, indubitably, a fine car: sensible, spacious, good value. But Car of the Year? In a year that saw the launch of the VW Scirocco, the Toyota iQ and the KTM X-Bow?

The Superb’s victory was decided, we’re told, by a 700,000-strong public vote and a 23 member jury of prominent People from the Czech Republic. People from the Czech Republic must care an awful lot about having a sedan-hatch dual bootlid system.

We wouldn’t want to accuse the fine, upstanding Czechs of being any other than completely impartial and non-nationalistic in their voting choice, but it does reek a little bit, doesn’t it?

NB: We’ve just been informed that the Superb was also named as the Caravan Club’s ‘Towcar of the Year 2008’. We apologise for any previous scepticism.