Nothing new really. Matthew Wilson had some 7th places overall in seasons where he got a lot of 5th and 6th places in rallies.
And was it not in 2006 where Manfred Stohl got 4th in the championship with the privateer-run 307? All respect to him, he is a PWRC World Champ after all, but it wasn't exactly a sign of the strength of the WRC-field in 06!