Volkswagen Polo is 2010 European Car of the Year

01 December, 2009 05:55:00

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The new Volkswagen Polo has been crowned with European Car of the Year award at this year’s ceremony held on Monday in Madrid.

In this year’s competition, 59 jurors from 23 European countries cast their votes. The vote was extremely close the Volkswagen Polo with 347 points and in close pursuit the Toyota iQ with 337 points. Third place went to the new version of Opel's Astra hatchback and fourth to the Skoda Yeti.

Mercedes-Benz E-class, Peugeot 3008 and Citroen C3 Picasso respectively completed the seven shortlisted cars.

Selection as Car of the Year is one of the oldest and most esteemed awards in Europe. The best of all new car introductions have been awarded annually since 1964. The last time a Volkswagen won was in 1992: Back then the new third generation Golf emerged victoriously over the Opel Astra and Citroen ZX.

Hakan Matson, president of the jury, had this to say at the award ceremony in Madrid: "It was the Polo’s comprehensive safety equipment and its advanced range of engines that impressed us the most. On the Polo BlueMotion Volkswagen was also able to add a very fuel-efficient yet affordable car to its car programme."

The Polo’s selection as Car of the Year 2010 is the crowning achievement of an extraordinary year for the new Polo after already being named Best Car 2009 by "auto motor sport" magazine and winning the Grüne ("Green") and the Goldene Lenkrad ("Golden Steering Wheel") awards by publisher Springer Verlag - as well as the Auto Trophy by "Autozeitung" just a few days ago.

Since its market launch in May of this year, Volkswagen has received over 130,000 orders for the new benchmark car of the compact class. The Polo is available as a dynamic 3-door and comfortable 5-door in Germany. As the Polo BlueMotion, just 3.3 liter fuel consumption makes it the most fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly five-seater in the world.

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