VW Polo is Car of the Year

The Volkswagen Polo has fought off strong competition this year to win the prestigious Car of the Year title. The Polo has been crowned Car of the Year 2010 - one of the oldest and most highly regarded awards in Europe - beating six other finalists including the Toyota iQ, Vauxhall Astra, Skoda Yeti, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Peugeot 3008 and Citroen C3 Picasso. The award, judged by a panel of 59 motoring journalists from 23 European countries, saw the Polo being picked as the winning car by 25 jurors, to the iQ's 20.

The competition between the Polo and the iQ was intense, the jurors seemingly favouring small, economical cars that fit with the current zeitgeist. The Polo won out in the final though, gaining 347 points overall compared to 337 for the Toyota. The next closest in the top six was the Vauxhall Astra with a score of 221 points.

"The fifth generation Polo was designed to address customer expectations with even greater uncompromising standards. That is why we are naturally very pleased to see our efforts validated in the form of this award," says Professor Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of the Board of Management, Volkswagen Group.

Previous winners of the Car of the Year title include the Vauxhall Insignia, Fiat 500, Ford S-Max, Renault Clio and Toyota Prius. The Polo's win is the first for Volkswagen since the Golf triumphed back in 1992.

Kyle Fortune