Polo wins big at 2019 What Car? awards

Added: 29 January 2019

The new generation Polo was named Small Car of the Year at the 2019 What Car? awards held on Tuesday 23 January 2019 in London. T-Roc and Touran also picked up price point honours in their respective categories.

New Polo and up! also claimed trophies at the Company Car Today CCT100 awards.

Polo triumphs with category win

The What Car?  judges praised the Polo’s comfort, practicality and refinement in the small car class. They commented: “Its frugal 1.0-litre petrol engine and strong resale values make it a good long-term buy, and Volkswagen has kept the pricing sensible. There are no weaknesses in its armour.”

Polo also earned the title of Supermini of the Year from Company Car Today at the publication’s second CCT100 awards, with Editor Paul Barker applauding the car’s mix of qualities. He said: “Volkswagen’s Polo won in one of the most closely-fought sectors of all, and proves that a desirable badge can also make sense in terms of overall running cost.

“The Polo impresses for all the sensible things such as efficiency, residual value and cost per mile, but in a high-quality and practical package with VW badge appeal.”

Price point wins

T-Roc took the win for ‘Best small SUV for more than £20,000’ at the What Car? awards, a year after being commended at the 2018 What Car? awards in the publication’s Safety Award.

Continuing a run of success at four consecutive What Car? awards, the Touran scooped the prize for ‘Best MPV for between £20,000-£30,000’ at the 2019 ceremony.

Commenting on the victories, What Car?  Editor, Steve Huntingford, said: “Volkswagen's cars are consistently among the class leaders, which is all the more impressive when you consider how diverse its range is. The brand's successes at the 2019 What Car? Car of the Year awards reflect this, with the small but classy Polo winning at one end of the scale, across the rest of Volkswagen’s extensive range.

“With the ID. electric family car and a new Golf set to be revealed later this year, it seems there's plenty of opportunity for further Volkswagen success at the 2020 awards."

up! named City Car of the Year

The up! was another winner at the Company Car Today CCT100 awards, scooping the title’s City Car of the Year accolade. The panel remarked that the compact Volkswagen “proves that high-quality little cars can also be fun and cost-effective”.

Geraldine Ingham, Head of Marketing at Volkswagen UK, adds: “Such a varied mix of awards, in important consumer and business titles, clearly demonstrates the diverse strengths of the Volkswagen range. These wins are a great boost for the brand as it prepares for an especially exciting year, with several important new models coming as well as an ongoing emphasis on broadening the appeal of our electric cars.”