PoloDriver

The new Polo is one of the seven finalists in the running for the title of European Car of the Year 2010. Up against the Citroën C3 Picasso, Mercedes-Benz E-class, Vauxhall Astra, Peugeot 3008, Škoda Yeti and Toyota iQ, the new small Volkswagen made it through from the initial list of 29 runners.

Twenty-three countries from Europe will field 59 well-respected jurors from the motoring press, and it will be these established figures who will choose the winner on Friday 27 November. Volkswagen’s last entry, the recently rejuvenated Golf, came third in 2009’s contest, behind the second-placed Ford Fiesta and overall winner, the Vauxhall Insignia.

So, what the Polo’s chances? We obviously want it to win, but up against ground-breakers such as the Toyota IQ, we wouldn’t like to say what the outcome will be. The Toyota offers something genuinely different (but not necessarily better) in the city car class, and while the Polo has 34 years of heritage and a premium feel on its side, in this contest, those attributes just might not be enough.