Volvo’s V90 was crowned Scottish Car of the Year last night.
The sleek and spacious car was named best Estate car at a glittering awards ceremony at the Dalmahoy in Edinburgh.
It then went on to beat 12 other category winners to lift the overall title in an event run by the Association of Scottish Motoring Writers ASMW).
The awards also delivered impressive results for Audi, Ford, Jaguar and Renault, with all four marques scooping double wins. Not only was the beautifully appointed A4 the top Executive car but the V10-engined R8 – the priciest of the winners – was named best Sports car.
Ford’s Focus RS and Mustang were the ASMW’s favoured Hot Hatch and Drop Top. Meanwhile success for Renault in the Family and Crossover car categories with the Megane and Kadjar underlines the design and quality of the French firm’s new models.
Leading the charge for Great Britain, Jaguar’s second generation XF and all-new F-PACE – penned under the direction of Scots design boss Ian Callum – were clear champions in both the Luxury and SUV categories.
Mazda continued its recent good run of SCOTY form with a new engine for a revised version of a car which has previously scooped the Family car title. The 1.5-litre SKYACTIV diesel engine’s credentials were notable enough to win the Diesel title while the MX-5 was named as the ASMW’s best Used Car choice for 2016.
Elsewhere, Suzuki’s big value Baleno impressed the judges greatly and, also on a clean, green theme, the innovative drivetrains of Hyundai’s IONIQ were enough to make it the top Eco vehicle.
MPV of the Year went to BMW for its 2 Series Grand Tourer premier people mover while McLaren scooped the special Design and Innovation prize for the 570 Sports Series range.
ASMW President Stephen Park added: “Volvo may have deservedly won the top prize with its V90 but the voting was close this year due to huge amount of new car talent available across all market segments.”
