IT’S like a downsized Golf – with all the benefits that brings.
So no wonder that the Volkswagen Polo supermini has been named Car of the Year 2010.
The VW Polo, with 347 points, narrowly beat Toyota’s urban city car, the iQ (337 points). The Vauxhall Astra was third but some way adrift (221 points).
Following the top three were the Skoda Yeti (158), the Mercedes-Benz E-Class (155), the Peugeot 3008 (144) and the Citroen C3 Picasso (113).
The Car of the Year (COTY) jury comprises 59 senior motoring journalists from 23 countries. Their objective is to choose the most outstanding new car to go on sale in the past 12 months. Jurors vote twice: first to select a short-list of seven from the new cars launched in Europe; then again to choose the winner.
“This year’s results show that the body of COTY jurors firmly believes that small, economical cars were the best of this year’s crop,” commented Steve Cropley from Autocar magazine, one of six UK-based jurors.
“The VW Polo is a very complete, very refined car which delivers all the consistent qualities VW has become so well known for. However, given its unusual layout, controversial looks and premium price, the iQ did amazingly well.”
This is the second time VW has won the award. In 1992 the Golf was named European Car of the Year.
Previous COTY winners from 1995-2009
- 2009 Vauxhall Insignia
- 2008 Fiat 500
- 2007 Ford S-MAX
- 2006 Renault Clio
- 2005 Toyota Prius
- 2004 Fiat Panda
- 2003 Renault Megane
- 2002 Peugeot 307
- 2001 Alfa Romeo 147
- 2000 Toyota Yaris
- 1999 Ford Focus
- 1998 Alfa Romeo 156
- 1997 Renault Megane Scenic
- 1996 Fiat Bravo
- 1995 Fiat Punto
Further reading
There’s additional commentary in the Editor’s Blog Refinement wins over ingenuity.
