Things haven't been great for Volkswagen but it didn't stop them from making great cars. The all-new Tiguan family-sized SUV just claimed this year's Carsguide Car of the Year award. The Tiguan's victory is the fourth time in the past eight years that a Volkswagen has claimed the crown, following the Golf in 2013 and 2009, and the Polo in 2010.
Controversy surrounds this outcome due to VW's emissions-cheating scandal late last year. Reliability issues were also being touted.
The Tiguan scored on all counts — safety, comfort, quality and driving enjoyment — to take a unanimous first-place from the COTY judges.
It might be the big company's last win for a while though as the Volkswagen Group, which spans everything from Volkswagen and Skoda cars to Bugatti and Lamborghini supercars and the ultra-luxury Bentley brand at the top, is already making massive cuts which will severely impact its future development programs.
It finished ahead of the Honda Civic and the tech laden Audi A4 after two days of intensive testing of a 10-car field of finalists.
The Top Ten
1 - Volkswagen Tiguan
2 - Honda Civic
3 - Audi A4
4 - Mazda CX-9
5 - Abarth 124
6 - Holden Astra
7 - Jaguar F-Pace
8 - Ford Focus RS
9 - Kia Sportage
10 - Mercedes-Benz E300