Volkswagen a Triple Category Winner at Drive's Car of the Year 2012 Awards

BOTANY, AUSTRALIA – Nov 29, 2012: Volkswagen has once again been recognised with multiple category wins in the annual Drive Car of the Year Awards, with Polo, Golf Cabriolet and all-new up! each receiving awards.

Launched in 2010, and crowned Drive Car of the Year the same year, the Polo 77TSI continues to collect trophies in the light car segment, winning its third consecutive category win as Drive’s Best City Car.

The Polo was described by one judge as being “the benchmark setter in this category – if not the one above,” while another judge found it “hard to fault anything about it,” pointing to the refined and confident nature of the car during cornering and highway cruising.

The Golf Cabriolet, another repeat award winner, has yet again led the way in its class to collect the Best Convertible award, thanks to its competitive price, robust safety package, and outstanding driving capabilities. In the words of the Drive judges, the Golf Cabriolet “delivers a healthy reality check with great bang for buck, fuel economy and the fact that four people get to enjoy it at once.”

Volkswagen’s smallest car, the up!, was awarded Drive’s prestigious Safety Innovation Award, for its much-lauded innovative City Emergency Braking function. This life-saving technology can reduce accident severity via automatic brake intervention and potentially avoid a collision, and to date the up! is the only car in its segment equipped with such premium car safety technology.

The Volkswagen up! was voted a unanimous winner, with all Drive judges applauding the inclusion of its City Emergency Braking function in such a price-sensitive segment of the market. Drive’s judges applauded the inclusion, stating, “most car makers do everything they can to cut the price and often lop safety equipment.”

Anke Koeckler, Volkswagen Group Australia’s Managing Director, commented on the wins.

“Time after time our Volkswagen Polo continues to receive recognition for its class-leading abilities, and the beautiful Golf Cabriolet has once again taken the top spot over some respected rivals.”

“Winning Drive’s Safety Innovation Award is a truly great achievement for our new Volkswagen up!. The safety offering in our smallest and most affordable car truly sits in a class of its own and the Safety Innovation Award confirms this further.”

The 2012 Drive Car of the Year Awards was judged by one the most experienced group of road testers in the country over a week of testing encompassing 15 categories. The Drive Car of the Year Awards is regarded as the ultimate consumer guide in Australia.