IN ONE of the closest run contests of recent years, the new Volkswagen Polo has been named as the 2010 Car of the Year, beating six other finalists.
When the votes from 59 motoring writers in 23 European countries were counted up, the Polo emerged as the winner by a mere ten points, ahead of Toyota's new city car, the iQ.
The two small cars left the other nominated finalists trailing well behind. Third place went to the latest Vauxhall Astra while the other finalists were the Skoda Yeti, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Peugeot 3008 and the Citroen C3 Picasso.
The Polo was chosen as the winning car by 25 jurors, while the iQ was chosen by 20 jurors. The competition was neck-and-neck throughout the counting, with the Polo's win confirmed only as the last vote was counted.
'This year's results show that the body of jurors firmly believes that small, economical cars were the best of this year's crop,' says British judge Steve Cropley.
'The 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.'
In recent years the European Car of the Year award has been dominated by Italian and French winners and this is the first time a Volkswagen has taken the award since 1992 when the third generation Golf emerged victorious over the Opel Astra and Citroën ZX.