City Emergency Braking on the up!

The Volkswagen up! is not even on UK roads yet, but it has just been awarded the title of What Car? Car of the Year 2012, as well as Best City Car, at the What Car? Awards.

Volkswagen had a successful night at the motor industry’s annual ‘Oscars’, which was held at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London. The Golf was voted the top Small Family Car category for the sixth time overall and fourth consecutive year, and Volkswagen also won the coveted Safety Award.

Commenting on the awards, What Car? editor-in-chief Chas Hallett said: ‘The Volkswagen up! sets new standards for a car at £10,000.  It’s a city car that can seat four adults, while offering new levels of refinement, quality and maturity at this price; none of its rivals feels quite so grown-up.  Buyers will be looking for even more for their money than ever in 2012, so the up! is a worthy winner of the What Car? Car of the Year.’

Meanwhile the Safety Award was in large part the result of the availability of Volkswagen’s new City Emergency Braking system on the up!.  The What Car? judges were impressed by this particular example of ‘big car’ technology filtering down to a smaller model and the system uses sensors to scan the space ahead. It then applies the brakes automatically if it detects that the car is about to hit an object in front. 

Director of Volkswagen UK, Chris Craft, said: ‘We are absolutely delighted with the awards we have received from What Car? this year.  The magazine continues to be one of the most thorough and important sources of new car buying information for UK customers and winning the overall Car of the Year accolade gives our new city car, the up!, the best introduction to the UK market that we could have hoped for”.

First models should arrive in UK showrooms in March and Volkswagen contract hire on the up! range is on the site now.

The full list of category winners at the What Car? Awards 2012 is below.

Nissan Qashqai 1.6 Visia

The Nissan Qashqai has just been awarded the title of “What Car? Used Car of the Year 2011” with the British built car being praised for its styling, price, family-friendly cabin, Euro NCAP 5-star safety rating, low running costs, comfortable ride and dependability.

In addition, the Jaguar XF won the award for the best used car in the Executive and Luxury class, beating off rivals from Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. The winners in their respective sectors are listed below and the seven-strong What Car? judging panel was made up from all areas of the motor industry, including car dealerships, British Car Auctions, Warranty Direct, Lex Autolease and experts from What Car?

They looked at a number of factors when considering buying a used car including running costs, reliability, driveability, quality, longevity, safety features and desirability. Don’t forget if you are thinking of buying a used car to also consider the new MoT rules that come into effect on the 1st January 2012, as items like ESC (Electronic Stability Control) will now form part of the MoT test and repair costs for used cars may become more costly with these features.

What Car? Used Car Winners

• Supermini – Ford Fiesta 1.25i Style+ 5-door
• Small family car – Nissan Qasqhai 1.6 Visia
• Family car – Ford Mondeo 2.0 TDCi Zetec 5-door
• Estate – Volkswagen Passat 1.9 TDI SE
• MPV – Ford S-Max 2.0 TDCi Zetec
• SUV – Hyundai Santa Fe 2.2 CRTD CDX 7-seater
• Executive and luxury – Jaguar 2.7D V6
• Sports car – Porsche Boxster 2.7
• Green car – Volkswagen Golf 1.6 TDI SE 5-door

Overall winner- Nissan Qashqai 1.6 Visia.

If you are a small business and may be looking at buying a used Nissan Qashqai, you might also be interested in leasing a brand new one? We have the Nissan Qashqai 1.5dCi Acenta 110bhp 5-door on the site now on Nissan Qashqai car leasing from only £185.59+VAT per month. This is based on a 2-year contract, 6 rentals in advance, 10,000 miles per annum and non-maintained car leasing.

Lexus

Lexus has for the eleventh year running just been voted highest ranked car manufacturer for UK vehicle ownership, in the latest J.D. Power and Associates/What Car? study. The Lexus IS  executive saloon achieved the highest overall score and the RX luxury SUV was ranked third overall.

This year’ survey was conducted from the opinions of 16,840 owners of vehicles that were on average two years old and Richard Balshaw, Lexus Director, commented,”We are delighted and immensely proud that Lexus has retained number one position. It’s a great reward for the teams at our Lexus centres across the country,who work unstintingly to deliver the best possible service to our customers”. Lexus contract hire leasing prices are on the site now if you are think of leasing your next Lexus car.

Audi A1

The sporty Audi A1 has been named as What Car? Car of the Year 2011 at the prestigious What Car award ceremony last night at the Grosvenor House Hotel in Park Lane, London.

The judges were full of admiration for the Audi A1 and Steve Fowler, editor-in-chief, said,”The Audi A1 is a brilliant car: brilliantly targeted and brilliantly executed. More and more buyers are looking for smaller, more efficient cars, but with all the luxury trappings of much larger cars.That’s exactly what Audi has given them, a super, stylish, high quality small car that’s affordable and great fun, too. Audi contract hire prices on the Audi A1 are on the site now.

New BMW X3 20d xDrive M Sport

The all-new BMW X3 range is set to be enhanced with an M Sport specification to enhance its sporting looks and goes on sale in March 2011, with BMW prices announced at a later date. The M Sport specification includes 18-inch star-spoke M alloy wheels, chrome plated door sill finishers with M designation, High-gloss Shadowline exterior trim for the window surrounds, M Sport multi-function steering wheel, Sports seats and Anthractite headlining.

In addition, BMW has beaten off competition from the likes of Porsche and Aston Martin with the BMW 1 Series Coupe scooping the honour of Best Coupe in the annual What Car ? Reader Awards.  The 1 Series Coupe also came out on top as Best Car Overall and was praised for its solid build quality, economy and dynamics.

James Morrison, BMW 1 Series Product Manager, said of the win,”To have beaten such tough competition is a testament, not just to the quality of the BMW 1 Series Coupe, but also to our customers who are so passionate about their cars. With the customer being the most important critic, BMW couldn’t be more proud to have won such an important award”. The BMW 1 Series range is also available now on BMW car leasing.

Skoda

Skoda has just been voted as the Best Car Manufacturer by the readers of What Car? magazine. The award-winning manufacturer also fared well in the individual categories with the Octavia placed first in the Small Family car group, the Octavia also came second in the Estates category and the Roomster came fourth in the highly contested MPV class. Finally the innovative Yeti came an impressive fifth in the SUV category and the Fabia had a top ten ranking in the Supermini class.

Skoda has won a variety of awards for its model range this year, including Which? Best car manufacturer of the year 2010 and Best Manufacturer in the 2010 Auto Express Driver Power survey. So before you think about leasing your next car why not have a look at Skoda business car leasing prices too?

Volkswagen Golf

Volkswagen has done the double at the Auto Express New Car Awards 2010 picking up two awards. For the second year in a row they have won the “Best Compact Family Car” and Auto Express editor in chief, David Jones said: “With its classy looks, high-quality cabin and executive car refinement, the Volkswagen still sets the standard. Better still, it’s great to drive, excellent value and has a brilliant range of engines -including innovative turbocharged TSI petrol units”.

The Volkswagen Golf GTI retained the “Best Hot Hatch” award and David Johns commented: “There are rivals that are faster and more eye-catching, but few can match the Golf’s all-round ability and appeal. Its smooth 2.0-litre engine delivers perfectly judged performance,while its composed chassis mixes comfort and composure in equal measure. Plus it comes in three and five-door bodystyles, and with manual and twin-clutch DSG transmissions”.

These awards are now added to the Golf’s growing list of accolades, with other titles presented already presented this year by Fleet News, Top Gear, Diesel Car, BusinessCar and What Car?. Volkswagen Golf business contract hire is on the site now with prices on all new models available.

Kia cee'd

The Kia cee’d scored 83.8 per cent in the recent J.D Power and Associates/What Car? Vehicle Ownership Satisfaction Study (VOSS) to achieve a stunning 4th overall position. The c’eed finished just behind luxury cars like the Lexus and Jaguar. The cee’d also topped the “Lower Medium Car” segment ahead of vehicles such as the BMW 1 Series and the Skoda Octavia.

The Kia cee’d was the first Kia model to benefit from Kia’s major quality offensive and the Soul Urban crossover, Venga B-segment MPV and Sorento SUV have also been part of the quality excellence programme. Steve Fowler,Group Editor of What Car? said,”This is a superb result for Kia. The cee’d's fourth place is seriously impressive given the strength of the opposition, while securing top spot in the lower medium car category (ahead of some traditional J.D.Power high flyers) is a clear indication of how the newer Kia products are providing just what customers want”. Kia contract hire prices are available now.

A shocking poll by What Car?, one of the UK’s leading motoring magazines, has revealed that many drivers are ignoring the dangers of drink driving the morning after. Over half of those drivers polled by whatcar.com have admitted to driving “the morning after”, despite being over the limit and 37% said they had done it once or twice.  The figures get worse, as 10% said they did it from “time to time” and 6% admitted to regularly taking to the wheel when drunk in the morning.

Steve Fowler, editor of What Car? said,”It’s incredible to think that in this day and age people continue to drink-drive the morning after. They are putting their lives and the lives of many others at risk. The simple message is that if you think you’re over the limit the morning after you probably are. Stay away from your car.”

Mazda6 wins two awards

Mazda has won the “Family Car” and “Estate Car” categories at the What Car? Awards 2010 for their popular Mazda6. Peter Lawson, panel judge for the “Family Car” category at What Car? praised the Mazda6 for its practicality, comfort, class and reliability and its fun to drive appeal. He said,”If you choose wisely, you can have all these talents wrapped in one car: the Mazda6.

Steve Fowler,editor of What Car? said,” The Mazda6 Hatchback and Estate outclassed contenders in the “Family Car” and “Estate Car” categories, with its overall package of practicality and good looks proving too much for the competition. The Mazda6 ticks all the right boxes when it comes to a company car and family car drivers making an informed car purchase”.

The Mazda6 is offered in a choice of four powertrains, five equipment levels and eleven colours and Mazda contract hire pricing is available now.