Škoda cleans up at Auto Express New Car Awards
Škoda enjoyed a fantastic night at the Auto Express New Car Awards, with the brand picking up an unprecedented five awards.
Škoda won Best Crossover Car for Yeti, Best Family Car for Superb and Best Estate Car for Superb Estate. Most impressively, the Yeti walked away with the overall title of Car of the Year 2010. The brand also picked up the Driver Power Award for reliability and outstanding customer service.
The Auto Express judges loved the blend of outstanding engine line-ups, high spec levels, reliability and value for money offered by all our winners. They were particularly impressed with the Yeti, saying: “In a year that has seen the arrival of some truly special cars, the Škoda is a worthy winner of our overall crown.”
Škoda UK Director Robert Hazelwood said: “This is a fantastic honour! We’re delighted that Auto Express thinks as highly of the Yeti as we do. It’s a fantastic car and is selling well ahead of even our optimistic forecasts. It provides, as Auto Express said, stylish looks and great value with a huge helping of fun.
“The awards for Škoda Superb Hatch and Estate, and the Driver Power award are also fantastic. Driver Power is especially rewarding, as it recognises the work that our retailers do to provide outstanding customer service to Škoda owners across the UK.
“Škoda is having a great year, with record sales and the largest order bank in our history. We believe the reasons for that are simple and are reflected in what Auto Express recognised with these awards – great products built with excellent engineering and a retailer network that takes outstanding care of our customers.”
Full details of the awards are in this week’s copy of Auto Express.
The Auto Express verdict
Best Estate Car – Superb Estate
“The Superb saloon is a firm Auto Express favourite, and the arrival of the Estate has broadened the model’s appeal even further. The four-door’s high-quality cabin, sharp dynamics and imposing looks have been given an added dose of practicality – and the load-carrier’s 633-litre boot leads the class.
“A revised rear end also improves the styling, so the Superb is a rare thing – a car that looks even better as an estate than it does as a hatchback or saloon. A brilliant engine line-up, the option of the Volkswagen Group’s DSG gearbox and the availability of a 4x4 transmission also mean the range enjoys the kind of strength in depth required to win this prize.
“The fact that the model comes with hugely competitive price tags, generous equipment levels and the promise of Škoda reliability and aftersales service makes it a deserving winner of our Estate Car award.”
Best Crossover Car – Yeti
“If Tonka made real cars, the Škoda Yeti is how they would look – but the crossover is more than just a chunky shape. It’s designed to attract buyers of traditional compact SUVs, as well as motorists who currently drive a regular family hatch, and it’s easy to see the appeal.
“It comes with a choice of two- or four-wheel drive, a roomy interior full of high quality trim and the best engine technology that the Volkswagen Group has to offer. So the Yeti provides the styling of a tough off-roader with the running costs of a conventional family model. Picking a favourite isn’t easy, as the line-up is really strong, but the 1.2-litre TSI is a brilliant choice. Generous equipment and Škoda’s famed reliability and customer service take care of the rest.”
Best Family Car – Superb Hatch
“The Škoda Superb must like a scrap – not content with seeing off traditional class rivals from mainstream brands, the Czech machine is also good enough to rival cars from the class above, too.
“The huge cabin and spacious boot ensure it competes on size, but there’s more to the Superb than its dimensions. Interior quality is excellent, and the brilliance of the engine line-up is evident even on the entry car in the range, which features the Volkswagen Group’s smooth 1.4-litre TSI unit.
“Inside, equipment levels are generous. Go for Elegance spec and you’ll find that everything from leather upholstery to sat-nav is fitted as standard. What’s more, the Škoda badge guarantees tremendous build quality, plus aftersales service that is among the best on the market.”
Driver Power
“Some brands are expected to perform on reliability and service… as they crow about it at every opportunity. Škoda isn’t one of them. Instead, it goes about its business quietly and efficiently – and this approach has won it a legion of admirers.
“Most people think the brand stands for great-value cars that provide Volkswagen quality at lower prices. Well, this is only partly true – because buyers get better than that, for less. No-nonsense Škoda trumped its Volkswagen Group stablemates with another strong showing in our Driver Power 2010 satisfaction survey. In fact, it beat all-comers to take the top prize.
“In 2009, Škoda became the first firm to knock Lexus off the top of our chart, based on the responses of thousands of car owners, and it triumphed again this year.
“No model won an individual category (rating everything from build to running costs), but strong performances across the board show exactly how much you, our readers, think of Škoda’s products.”
Car of the Year – Yeti
“The winner of our Car of the Year prize has to be the unanimous choice of our judging panel, and is picked from our line-up of class champions. This year, the award goes to a car that blends the looks of an off-roader with the versatility of a compact MPV, but doesn’t demand the dynamic or financial compromises usually associated with either.
“The Škoda Yeti mixes tough Tonka toy looks, sharp handling and a high-quality and spacious cabin with the brand’s famed value-for-money pricing and customer service. Its brilliant engine line-up ranges from the entry-level 1.2 TSI (arguably the sweetest of the lot) to a 168bhp 2.0-litre diesel, and buyers can also choose between two-wheel-drive or 4x4 models. In addition, the Volkswagen Group’s excellent twin-clutch DSG transmission is available as an option.
“Best of all is the price, as the Yeti range kicks off at less than £14,000. In a year that has seen the arrival of some truly special cars, the Škoda is a worthy winner of our overall crown.”
