AutoCar, New Zealand - 335i COTY

Bruce · **AutoCar, New Zealand - 335i COTY -** 12-19-2006, 01:40 AM

"12/18/2006

The new BMW 335i Coupé has chalked up another victory in being named the New Zealand Autocar magazine Car of the Year 2007.
The BMW 335i Coupé topped the field of quality entries to sweep this year's awards, winning both the Best Performance Car and the overall Car of the Year awards.

"We were convinced by the compelling combination of high performance and reduced fuel consumption that the innovative powertrain of the 335i offers," said NZ Autocar managing editor Mark Petch.

NZ Autocar identifies 11 category winners from the models released on the New Zealand market during a calendar year, then drives off six 'finalists' picked from these category winners to judge the Car of the Year. The chosen six this year were the BMW (best performance car), Holden VE Calais V8 (best executive car), Nissan Maxima Spec-R (best large car), Mazda3 SP23 (best compact car), Mitsubishi Outlander (best crossover), and Suzuki Swift Sport (best small car).

The magazine's chief editor, Paul Owen, said it was fitting that the overall winner came from the performance car category this year.

"2006 really was the year of the Performance Car, and this category saw more new model launch activity than any other. There were no less than 27 new performance cars released on the market this year, and the BMW faced the biggest fight of any of the class winners," he said.

Receiving the award, BMW NZ sales manager, Peter Heuzeroth, said he felt "proud to be part of a passionate BMW team who are dedicated to delivering engineering innovation, superior performance and luxury." "