VW up! is World Car of the Year 05 | 04 | 2012

VW'S NEW CITY CAR, the up! has won this year’s World Car of the Year award. The quirky little runaround held off stiff competition from such notable rivals as the BMW 3 Series and Porsche 911, which filled the two other top three positions.

The up! was praised by judges for its "responsive steering, sophisticated suspension set-up, efficient engines and the quality of materials and finish."

Read our roadtest of the VW up!

And those same judges concluded "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."

Land Rover’s Range Rover Evoque received the World Car Design of the Year from the same judges, in the results which were announced at the New York Motor Show.

The Porsche 911 received the World Performance Car of the Year and the Mercedes-Benz 250 CDI BlueEfficiency World Green Car of the Year.

VW's 138bhp Polo Blue GT

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Jim McGill