PoloDriver

Yes, we know it was announced at the end of November last year, but the new Polo is now officially European Car of the Year 2010 after an awards presentation on Monday evening at Volkswagen’s spiritual home, Wolfsburg. Chosen by a jury consisting of 59 motoring journalists from 23 countries, the prestigious award was handed to Martin Winterkorn (above left), Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG by Håkan Matson, Chairman of the Jury Committee for Car of the Year.

Winterkorn paid tribute to Volkswagen employees in his acceptance speech: ‘It takes a great team to build winners like the Polo. I am proud the Volkswagen Group has such a strong and motivated team that has made the Polo with its cutting-edge technology, quality and safety affordable for everyone.’

The Car of the Year 2010 gong is just one of many titles – both in the Europe and the UK – that the new Polo has collected since its market launch last summer. Also awarded five stars in the latest round of Euro NCAP crash tests, the fifth-generation Polo is available with a choice of four petrol and three diesel engines. The new Polo BlueMotion 1.2 TDI is also currently the world’s most economical five-seater, and with 87g/km of C02 (left-hand drive models only), the one with the lowest emissions, too.

VW’s newest one-make series is still in its new-born stage, but the publicity campaign for the Volkswagen Polo Cup India 2010 is hotting up with the release of two new shots showing the profile and rear view of the race car. Along with the first publicity photo (above), the full extent of the Volkswagen Design-penned aerodynamic modifications can now be seen. The ground-hugging body kit, lowered ride height and wider tracks make the car appear tougher and ready for India’s motorsport circuits. The Volkswagen Polo Cup India 2010 will be run by Volkswagen India Motorsport in conjunction with JK Tyres and the 129bhp 1.6-litre TDI racers take to the track for the first race on 30 May.

What Car? compares the £13,030 1.4 SE five-door version of Volkswagen’s new baby to the Citroën C3 1.4 VTI 95 VTR+ and the Ford Fiesta 1.25i 82 Edge in its latest issue out now. Awarding the Polo and Fiesta five stars and the C3 four, summing up the magazine says, ‘The latest Polo shows that you can still afford a cracking motor if you’re on tight budget. Superminis don’t come any better. The Polo is as classy, comfortable and refined as cars from the class above, yet it’s also cheaper and better equipped than rivals.’

The current Awards 2010 issue of What Car? also features the magazine’s winners, of which the new Polo is one, in its annual prize-giving edition. The refined and grown-up fifth-generation model has won the Best Supermini category in the car buying monthly’s Car of the Year 2010 awards.

UK car-buying magazine What Car? recognised the new Polo at its annual awards last night, held at London’s prestigious Grosvenor House Hotel. Along with the hotly-contested Best Supermini 2010 title, the fifth-generation Polo also picked up the Best Buy award in the more than £11,000 sub-category. Both prizes were awarded to the 1.4-litre 85bhp SE five-door model. The Golf and Scirocco also took top honours in the Small Family Car and Best Coupé Under £25,000 categories respectively.

Presenting the Polo’s award, What Car? Group Editor, Steve Fowler commented: ‘We first got behind the wheel of the new Polo at the Geneva Motor Show and we were immediately blown away by its airiness and the quality of its interior. The Polo’s fine drive and a cabin that is effectively a Golf in miniature had us convinced.’

Chris Craft, Director of Volkswagen UK said: ‘I am extremely proud of these awards and to see three of our key models performing so strongly this evening. The new Polo has enjoyed a fantastic reception since its launch last year, and these latest awards are a good foundation for continued success looking forward.’

It’s starting to feel like 1994 all over again. The autumn of that year saw the third-generation Polo scoop almost every award it was up for and win almost every group test it took part in. To our knowledge no new generation of Volkswagen’s small car has swept the board to the same level since. Until now. Adding to its already full trophy cabinet, the new fifth-generation car was awarded second place in the ‘Automobile’ category at the ADAC ‘Gelber Engel 2010’ (‘Golden Angel 2010’) ceremony in Munich this week.

One of the most coveted awards in the auto industry, a total of 34 cars were up for prizes, voted for by readers of ADAC’s Motorwelt magazine and visitors to ADAC’s website. It brings the total of recent major industry awards that Volkswagen’s new baby has won to five.

The most prestigious is of course, the European Car of the Year 2010 gong, but it has also won the ‘Best Car of the Year 2009: Supermini’ award from Auto Motor und Sport; the ‘Green Steering Wheel’ and ‘Golden Steering Wheel’ from German magazine publishers Springer Verlag and the ‘Auto Trophy’ prize from Autozeitung.