The first examples have not even hit the showrooms yet but already the Volkswagen up! has started to scoop awards. The city car was named What Car? Car of the Year at an awards ceremony in London's Park Lane this week (January 11). The up! was also awarded the City Car of the Year gong and contributed to Volkswagen scooping the prestigious Safety Award with the What Car? judges impressed by the Emergency Braking System on the sub £10,000 car.

What Car? editor-in-chief Chas Hallett said: "The Volkswagen Up is the best car we've seen this year because it combines refinement, quality, space and economy. It sets new standards for the £10,000 price bracket. It feels at home in town and copes admirably on the motorway; it is the right car for the time."

The awards presented for the up! were the icing on the cake for the Volkswagen Group that took home nine of the sixteen trophies on offer on the night. For the fourth year running the Golf took honours in the Small Family Car category. Performance Car of the Year went to the Porsche 911 while the MPV award was won by the SEAT Alhambra for the second consecutive year.

Audi picked up three awards; with last year's overall winner, the A1, named best supermini, while the TT took the coupé title and the TT Roadster the open-top award.

The Ford Mondeo was awarded both the best family car and estate gongs with the What Car? judges praising how it makes life easier, costs little to run and is a great drive.

BMW took two awards back to Bavaria with the X3 taking the SUV crown and the recently released 3 Series picking up the award for best executive car. The Mercedes-Benz S-Class retained its crown as best luxury car, marking the seventh time the car has earned the accolade.

For the third year running, the Mégane Renaultsport was awarded Hot Hatch of the Year, with What Car? saying that it provides more attitude and exhilaration than any other hot hatch today.

Kia was presented with the Ultra-Low Carbon Award with the judges impressed the way it has made reductions in CO₂ without resorting to hybrid technology, while MG won the Security Award for the advanced features fitted to the new MG6.

The What Car? readers award for vehicle they would most like to see launched in 2012 went to the Jaguar C-X16 that debuted at the Frankfurt Motor Show last year.

In accepting the award, Adrian Hallmark, Global Brand Director for Jaguar Cars commented: "The C-X16 has received an extraordinary reaction since first appearing in Frankfurt last year - we're proud that the readers of What Car? share our enthusiasm for the Concept by voting in such numbers. I would like to personally thank the readers and recognise the efforts of Ian Callum and our engineers in creating such an inspiring and beautiful sports car."

Paul Healy - 13 Jan 2012