Golf drives off with title
The Volkswagen Golf has scored a hole in one by lifting the coveted Scottish Car of the Year title.
Filling out a perfect scorecard with the judges from the Association of Scottish Motoring Writers (ASMW), the new Golf also marks the first time Volkswagen has taken the top prize at these important awards, held at the Thistle Hotel in Glasgow on Friday evening.
The Golf also lifted the title of Family Car of the Year, ahead of some of the toughest competition ever gathered in this crucial category. On top of this, the classy Golf had to battle it out against rivals from the category winners, which are drawn from the following: Small, Budget, Family, MPV, Estate, Executive, Luxury, SUV, Crossover, Sporting, Hot Hatch, Diesel, Eco, Drop Top and Electric.
The evening was also a major celebration for Renault and its partner company Dacia, who together lifted four category wins. The first was for the excellent Renault Clio in the Small Car class, while the Dacia Sandero scooped the prize for best Budget Car. Renault went on to register wins for the versatile Captur in the Crossover section, while the Zoe was the runaway winner in the Electric Vehicle category.
More advanced technology was recognised when Ford lifted the special Innovation trophy for its MyKey that allows the owner of the car to programme different keys to allow the car to be driven in a variety of ways and safeguard new and young drivers.
UK car makers also got in on the multiple awards with Land Rover earning top spots in the Luxury class for its new lightweight Range Rover, while the Range Rover Sport impressed the judges more than enough to win the SUV competition. Land Rover’s sister company Jaguar also celebrated with the sleek F-Type beating all-comers to the title of Sporting Car of the Year.
At the other end of the convertible scale, the Citroen DS3 Cabrio was the judges' favourite in the Drop Top category, while the Ford Fiesta ST romped away with the Hot Hatch cup. For more practically-minded buyers, the ASMW’s experts awarded top spot in the MPV class to the Kia Carens, while the BMW 3 Series Touring showed space comes with grace for the Estate Car award.
Another premium badge in the shape of the Audi A3 earned the Executive Car of the Year title, while Mazda’s clever SkyActiv technology helped the Mazda6 2.2d 150 to the Eco prize thanks to its excellent economy and low emissions.
Alisdair Suttie, President of the Association of Scottish Motoring Writers, commented: “2013 has been a landmark year for the motoring industry, putting the hardships of the past few years behind and coming up with new cars that are bolder, better and more adapted to modern drivers’ needs. It makes our decisions harder than ever before, but each and every category winner can be thoroughly proud of themselves.
“The Volkswagen Golf has long been the go-to car for many families and the latest seventh generation model bowled us over. It is simply the most complete car for the money, offering versatility, comfort, safety and that all-important value for money up front and during the course of its life. The VW Golf is ideally suited to Scottish car buyers.”
Receiving the award, Robert Hazelwood, Director of Volkswagen UK, added: “2013 has been the year of the Golf. Following a successful UK launch in January the car has gone from strength to strength. It has won awards on both a European and world stage - but the UK awards are the ones which have the most tangible results. Winning the overall Scottish Car of the Year accolade is a huge boost and our retailers north of the border will be delighted with the additional success I am sure this will bring to the car.
“From the standard hatchback, through the GTI and GTD performance versions to the economical BlueMotion and the spacious Estate, there is a Golf to suit every need and desire. The Golf's high levels of quality, safety equipment, technology and value for money have made it a winner, and we're delighted these attributes have been recognised in this award.”
