IF YOU want to choose a car the thieves hate, then head for a Volkswagen.
At the British Insurance Vehicle Security Awards (BIVSA) VW won a series of category awards for the security of its vehicles, and was also named best car manufacturer.
The new Polo SEL was best for security in the City Car/Supermini category; the Tiguan compact 4×4 in the new Crossover class; the Phaeton took the title of best Luxury Car again; and the new Caravelle the best Large MPV.
The British Insurance Vehicle Security Awards are hosted by Thatcham, the Motor Industry Repair Research Centre, and given official support by the Home Office, the DfT, What Car? and the AA.
This is the seventh time the BIVSA awards have been held, but the first time Volkswagen has won the overall accolade.
Volvo and Audi are the only other manufacturers to have won before.
Vehicles were judged on a number of criteria identified by the creators of the New Vehicle Security Ratings (NVSR) scheme. Those that had a maximum five stars for ‘theft from’, had double locking, and an ‘E’ insurance suffix (indicating they had a feature that exceeds the required standard) were shortlisted for final evaluation and ranking.
Andrew Miller, director of research at Thatcham, commented: “Thatcham has played a key role in the fight against vehicle crime since 1992 and we welcome the opportunity to reward and encourage vehicle manufacturers who are really at the top of their game when it comes to improving the security of their vehicles.”
Audi was the second best overall for security, winning the Compact Executive Car (Audi A4); Open-top Car (Audi A5 Cabriolet); Performance Car (Audi S8); and Compact 4×4 (Audi Q5).
A new green award – proving that buyers need not compromise when it comes to security and helping the environment – went to Toyota’s Prius T3 and T Spirit with Solar Panel.
Security Awards 2010
- City Car/Supermini
- 1st Volkswagen Polo SEL (2010 MY)
- 2nd SEAT Ibiza Sport
- 3rd Skoda Fabia (except S and Greenline) (2010 MY)
- 4th MINI
- Small Family Car
- 1st Citroen C4 Exclusive
- 2nd Volvo C30
- 3rd Audi A3
- Family Car
- 1st Citroen C5 Exclusive
- 2nd Volkswagen Passat – Passat CC
- 3rd Vauxhall Insignia
- Compact Executive Car
- 1st Audi A4
- 2nd Audi A5 Sportback
- 3rd Infiniti G
- 4th SEAT Exeo
- Compact MPV
- 1st Citroen C4 Picasso Exclusive
- 2nd Volkswagen Golf Plus (except S)
- 3rd Skoda Roomster (except 1)
- Large MPV
- 1st Volkswagen Caravelle (2010 MY)
- 2nd Ford S-MAX
- 3rd Ford Galaxy (except LX)
- Open-top Car
- 1st Audi A5 Cabriolet
- 2nd Audi R8 Spyder
- 3rd Volkswagen Eos
- 4th Audi TT Roadster
- Performance Car (including Coupe, Hot Hatch and Super)
- 1st Audi S8
- 2nd Mercedes-Benz CL Coupe
- 3rd Citroen C4 Coupe Exclusive
- Crossover
- 1st Volkswagen Tiguan
- 2nd Volvo XC60
- 3rd BMW X1
- 4th Skoda Yeti
- Compact 4×4
- 1st Audi Q5
- 2nd Infiniti EX
- 3rd Vauxhall Antara
- 4th Chevrolet Captiva
- Large 4×4
- 1st Toyota Land Cruiser V8
- 2nd Audi Q7
- 3rd Infiniti FX
- 4th Lexus RX
- 5th Nissan Murano
- Executive Car
- 1st Citroen C6
- 2nd Audi A6
- 3rd Volvo S80
- Luxury Car
- 1st Volkswagen Phaeton
- 2nd Audi A8
- 3rd Mercedes-Benz S-Class
- 4th Jaguar XJ (2010 MY)
- 5th Lexus LS
- Green Car
- 1st Toyota Prius T3 and T Spirit with Solar Panel
- 2nd Toyota Prius T4 and T Spirit
- 3rd Volvo C30 DRIVe with Start/Stop
- 4th Volkswagen Golf Bluemotion
Manufacturer
1st Volkswagen: Jetta, Passat – Passat CC, Caddy Maxi Life, Caravelle, Eos, Scirocco,Tiguan, Touareg and Phaeton
2nd Audi: A3, A4, A5, R8, TT, Q5, Q7, A6 and A8
3rd Volvo: C30, S40 – V50, S60, C70, XC60, XC90 and V70 – XC70 – S80
4th BMW: 1-Series, Z4, 5-Series, X1, 7-Series
5th Mazda: 2, 5, 6, RX-8 and CX-7
6th Nissan: 370Z, GT-R, X-Trail, Murano and Pathfinder
7th Toyota: Avensis, Prius, Verso, Rav-4, Land Cruiser
Further information
There is additional comment on the security awards in the Editor’s Blog Car security rises but the car thieves don’t go away.
Volkswagen named most secure car maker
