2010 European Car of the Year is VW Polo

VW Polo has been crowned as the "European Car of the Year 2010". The supermini from Volkswagen, Europe's largest and most successful carmaker, narrowly beat the Toyota iQ in the final round of voting.

The result was determined from a group of 33 new cars launched in Europe in 2009 which were tested and voted on by European automotive journalists. The list of contenders included cars such as Suzuki Alto, Hyundai i20 and Kia Soul at one end to Porsche Panamera and Nissan 370Z at the other. A final shortlist of 7 cars was then determined before picking up the decisive winner. The jury for "Car of the Year 2010" consisted of 59 members, representing 23 European countries. The seven organizers of European Car of the Year are prominent automotive publications such as Auto(Italy), Autocar(UK), Autopista(Spain), Autovisie(Holland), L'Automobile Magazine(France), Stern(Germany) and Vi Bilagare(Sweden).

2010 ECOTY Results:

1. Volkswagen Polo (347)
2. Toyota iQ (337)
3. Opel/Vauxhall Astra (221)
4. Skoda Yeti (158)
5. Mercedes-Benz E-Class (155)
6. Peugeot 3008 (144)
7. Citroen C3 Picasso (113)

Previous ECOTY Winners:

• 2009 Opel/Vauxhall Insignia
• 2008 Fiat 500
• 2007 Ford S-Max
• 2006 Renault Clio
• 2005 Toyota Prius

By the way, VW Polo is one of the most awaited cars in India and is expected to be launched in the first quarter of 2010. As if the marketing blitzkrieg of 13-page adverts in Times of India is not enough, here is yet another thing which could be used as a tool to be unleashed in the Indian media. VW. Das Auto.