Audi races to top award

The VW Group celebrated some good news this week as it won nearly half of the 2016 What Car? Awards, including the prestigious Car of the Year Award.

It scooped eight of the 19 annual awards, with its all-new Audi A4 taking the top gong.

The What Car? Award winners are selected by a team of in-house experts, based on 16 key criteria, including rigorous testing on all road surfaces and ownership costs.

Jim Holder, editorial director of What Car?, said, ‘When we began the judging process, the VW emissions scandal was in full swing.

‘However, our guiding principle is to recommend the best cars on sale today. We have tested all cars with our unrivalled rigour and scrutiny on a level playing field with all of their rivals.

‘Regardless of the scandal, the VW Group still builds cars that rank among the very best on the road and, tested against our criteria covering all of the rational reasons that consumers choose one car over another, the results are clear to see.’

None of the VW winning cars have been affected by the emissions scandal, while Audi A4’s success follows previous Car of the Year wins for Audi A1 and A3.

Dominique Boesch, Audi’s head of sales for Europe, said, ‘For the A4 to receive such an award is enormously meaningful for us and is a recognition of the advanced engineering and design that the A4 epitomises, which make it such a popular choice for UK drivers.

For the full list of winners, visit the What Car? website.