Audi A1 wins Car of the Year

The eagerly anticipated Audi A1 appears to have lived up to expectations by winning the What Car? Car of the Year award for 2011. The magazine praised the supermini’s handling, build quality, style and comfort while claiming it was a relative snip at the price of £15,670. The A1 is targeted at prestige customers looking to downzise and What Car? said it was a more practical option than its principal rival, the Mini.Volkswagen’s Golf 1.4 TSi Match 5dr received the top gong for small family car while the Ford Mondeo 2.0 TDCi 140 Zetec won both the family car and estate categories.

The other category winners comprised: MPV: Seat Alhambra 2.0 TDI 140 Ecomotive S; Crossover: Peugeot 3008 1.6 THP 156 Sport; Electric Car: Nissan Leaf; Hot Hatch: Renault Megane Renaultsport 250 Cup; Coupe: Audi TT 2.0 TFSI 211 Sport; Open Top: BMW Z4 sDrive23i; Performance Car: Ferrari 458 Italia; 4x4: Land Rover Discovery 3.0 SDV6 XS; Compact Executive: BMW 3 Series 320d ES; Executive Car: Jaguar XF 3.0D V6 Luxury; Luxury Car: Mercedes-Benz S-Class S350 CDI Bluetec.