India bound VW Polo is European Car of the Year 2009!
I haven't known a car that's held the honor of being the European car of the year as well as carrying 'Made In India' tag. Well, my wish is going to come true next year as the Volkswagen Polo was officially chosen as the 2010 European Car of the Year.
The Polo didn't win it hands down. It narrowly escaped defeat by scoring slightly more than the Toyota iQ for the award.
The cars that went till the last round were the Opel/Vauxhall Astra, Skoda Yeti, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Peugeot 3008, and the Citroen C3 Picasso.
VW's Polo despite being 7.5 percent lighter than the previous model, holds a five-star safety rating, a bigger body and slightly larger boot. Six different engine options are offered on the Polo in Europe.
Press Release
| Car of the Year 2010: The New Polo is Car of the Year
* International jury - 59 members from 23 European countries Wolfsburg/Madrid, 30 November 2009 - The new Polo is Car of the Year 2010: Today the Car of the Year jury chose the Volkswagen as number 1; this is the crowning achievement of an extraordinary year for the new Polo. "The new Polo stands for German engineering craftsmanship and superior cutting edge technology. 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. 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 Citroën ZX. In today's competition, 59 jurors from 23 European countries cast their votes. The new Polo won with 347 points, outpacing the Toyota IQ. 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. Not only was the award jury impressed by the new Polo. 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 litre fuel consumption makes it the most fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly five-seater in the world. |
VW Polo Image Slideshow
Not able to see the slideshow above? Visit the VW Polo Image Gallery directly.