For the third consecutive year, Grupo Premia, made up of specialized journalists from the automotive sector, has chosen the Car of the year 2023 in Argentina and the award went to the Ford Maverick.
The compact pick-up from Mexico managed to prevail over the Fiat Pulse, which finished in second place, and the new Citroën C3, which completed the podium.
Thus, the Ford Maverick became the first model produced out of the country to win the prize, taking into account that the Volkswagen Taos and the Peugeot 208 were the winners of the 2022 and 2021 editions respectively.
How to choose the best car in the country
The vehicles that competed for the most important prize in the national sector, which in this edition bore the name carlos figeras (in recognition of the journalist who died in May 2022), were the ones who debuted in the local market between January 1 and December 31, 2022.
He jury It is made up of Matías Antico (TN Autos), Augusto Brugo Marcó (Parabrisas Magazine), Gabriel Silveira (Clarín), Martín Simacourbe (Argentina Autoweb), Eduardo Smok (Auto al Día), Gabriel Tomich (La Nación) and Guido Tonelli (Autotest magazine).
The voting system assigns each of the jurors 25 points to be distributed among the seven candidates, with the only requirement that none of them score more than 10 points.
Thus in the final voting Ford Maverick was first with 38 points, followed by Fiat Pulse (29 points), Citroën C3 (26 points), Jeep Commander (19 points), Mercedes-Benz C-Class (16 points), Audi RS e- tron GT (13 points) and Toyota GR 86 (11 points).
Other models that were in the competition but did not make it to the final stage were BMW 2 Series Coupe, DS 4, FAW Actis, Great Wall Poer, Hyundai Creta, Hyundai Staria, Kia Carnival, Kia Sorento, Lexus LX, Lexus NX, Mercedes-Benz S-Class and Subaru Outback.
Maverick, the winner
Animator of an incipient category, the compact pick-up began to be marketed in our country at the beginning of 2022. A direct rival of the Fiat Toro, the Maverick is built on the same platform that the brand uses for the Bronco Sport SUV, also it produced in Mexico.
Although it belongs to the “compact” segment, it is not a particularly small vehicle. Comes with crew cab body and measurements only 5 meters long1.9 wide, 3 steps and 1.74 high.
The range currently consists of two versions equipped with the 2.0 turbocharged petrol engine, which delivers a power of 258 horsepower and is associated with an 8-speed automatic gearbox and simple and integral traction systems.
The family will soon expand with the arrival of a variant hybrid powered by a 162-horsepower 2.5-liter petrol engine, a 1.1 kWh battery and a 126-horsepower electric motor which, together, will provide a total output of 191 horsepower.
As an electrified model, this new Maverick Hybrid will have some benefits implemented to encourage the use of this fuel-saving technology. One of those “privileges” is to don’t pay for the patent in different cities of the country or have a discount in paying this tax.
Source: Clarin
Ben Stock is a journalist working for News Rebeat, where he covers the automobile section. With a passion for cars and the industry, Ben brings insightful and in-depth reporting to his readers.
