The Volkswagen Up has won this year’s World Car of the Year award, the baby hatchback beating off competition from the BMW 3 Series and Porsche 911 that also made the final three, and 34 models in total. The award was announced at the New York motor show.
The jurors praised the VW’s "responsive steering, sophisticated suspension set-up, efficient engines and the quality of materials and finish." They concluded that "the Up has altered what we have come to expect from the citycar segment," while expecting "every builder of citycars to up its game just to compete with the new VW."
The same jury also made Land Rover’s Range Rover Evoque the World Car Design of the Year, the Porsche 911 World Performance Car of the Year and the Mercedes-Benz 250 CDI Blueefficiency World Green Car of the Year.
The World Car of the Year awards, which are voted for by 64 journalists from 25 countries, have now been running for eight years. Past winners include the Nissan Leaf (2011), Volkswagen Polo (2010), Volkswagen Golf (2009) and Mazda 2 (2008).
Richard Bremner
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