Currently reading: New Audi A4 wins What Car? Car of the Year Award
The Audi A4 has been named as the What Car? Car of the Year 2016, as Audi, Skoda and VW win eight of 19 award categories

The new Audi A4 has been named as Car of the Year 2016 at the annual What Car? Awards in London.

Volkswagen Group brands won eight of 19 'best buy' categories, as well as the overall trophy for Car of the Year in the awards, which were held in association with Warranty Direct.

What Car's testers used 16 core test critera to assess each model, including back-to-back testing on different types of road, analysis of ownership costs, mystery shopping and independent emissions testing. The brand has stressed that none of its winners are affected by the recent NOx and CO2 emissions scandals involving the Volkswagen Group.

Read our review on the 2015 Audi A4 here

Editorial director of What Car?, Jim Holder said: "When we began the judging process, the VW emissions scandal was in full swing. 

"However, our guiding principle is to recommend the best cars on sale today. We have tested all cars with our unrivalled rigour and scrutiny on a level playing field with all of their rivals.

"Regardless of the scandal, the VW Group still builds cars that rank among the very best on the road and, tested against our criteria covering all of the rational reasons that consumers choose one car over another, the results are clear to see.

“All VW Group brands face a huge journey in rebuilding public confidence in their products. We acknowledge that and accept that some car buyers will simply look to our runner-up recommendations as a result. Car buyers will always have varying priorities, and we will always be there to help make their journey as easy and fruitful as possible."

Other award winners on the night included the Hyundai i10, which was named best city car, Ford's Fiesta ST, which won in the hot hatchback category, and the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, which was named as the best luxury car.

What Car? readers also voted for the Alfa Romeo Giulia as the car they were most looking forward to in 2016.

Audi is now the only car manufacturer to have won the coveted What Car? Car of the Year trophy more than once in the past 10 years - with the Audi A1 and Audi A3 winning the main prize in previous years.

Dominique Boesch, Audi's head of sales for Europe said: “We at Audi feel enormously privileged to be recognised so conclusively with the coveted overall Car of the Year award, the strongest possible vote of confidence from What Car?

“For the A4 to receive such an award is enormously meaningful for us and is a recognition of the advanced engineering and design that the A4 epitomises, which make it such a popular choice for UK drivers."

The full list of award winners can be found on the What Car? Awards website.

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The Audi A4 zeroes in on efficiency, technology and quality - but is it enough to drive compact saloon buyers away from the BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class?

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paulmt123 25 January 2016

What car has gone downhill.

Questionable choice. It's a nice car but doesn't drive as well as a 3 series.
I'm more dissapointed by how little space car of the year now takes up. Once it listed every car in the class in reverse order. Now only the winners. The magazine itself is now tiny with some of my favourite features like readers testing 3 cars and choosing a winner absent. The information in buying guide is terrible. It's not a patch on what it once was.

I'm not going to agree on VAG cars. I've had 3 leons and all have been reliable. This 3rd generation is a huge improvement. You only need to drive the mazda 3 we also own to see how easy to drive and refined it is. The petrol TSI is amazing fora 1.2 and beats the 1.6 in the mazda hands down. I'd like a bit more feel and enthusiasm. For that reason I wouldn't pick vag at the top end. But for the more basic stuff it's near class leading.

db 16 January 2016

VW Audi

For all its Germanic sensibilities the A4 else where in the motoring press has made more of stir due to its quietness tablet style dash (I like to look at the road!) and its squidgy plastic yes they do use plastic !! No one has raved about its dynamics control weights and the ability to put a smile on your face. I never buy What car as it see's cars as white goods, joyless items and has resorted to lazy journalism due to constantly testing VW operating systems featured on Skoda Seat Audi and Porsche and take a strop if their i phone doesn't connect in another car manufacturer in the same way without looking at the manual. I have had a number of Audi's in the past pre the goatee beard grill which is now becoming ever larger brighter and I am sure will include some LED at some point!.
I will stick with my Mazda 6 with its great control weights, gear change, smooth engine with characterful growl and non Germanic styling from a small company that likes to do emissions improvements by creative engineering and not industrial espionage !
5wheels 16 January 2016

another clever man

db wrote:

For all its Germanic sensibilities the A4 else where in the motoring press has made more of stir due to its quietness tablet style dash (I like to look at the road!) and its squidgy plastic yes they do use plastic !! No one has raved about its dynamics control weights and the ability to put a smile on your face. I never buy What car as it see's cars as white goods, joyless items and has resorted to lazy journalism due to constantly testing VW operating systems featured on Skoda Seat Audi and Porsche and take a strop if their i phone doesn't connect in another car manufacturer in the same way without looking at the manual. I have had a number of Audi's in the past pre the goatee beard grill which is now becoming ever larger brighter and I am sure will include some LED at some point!.
I will stick with my Mazda 6 with its great control weights, gear change, smooth engine with characterful growl and non Germanic styling from a small company that likes to do emissions improvements by creative engineering and not industrial espionage !

Yes I agree entirely the Mazda 6 - zoom zoom or not - Skyactive is the most beautiful drive. Unassuming, quiet huge interior and a boot that swallows everything and more, plus it looks way way better than ANY of the opposition. Best value in the world and TOTAL and complete 100% reliability together with a servicing bill that doesnt make you cry

Volvophile 15 January 2016

WhatCar? is one of the most

WhatCar? is one of the most intensely biased magazines around. It is practically a PR machine for the VW Group and BMW and I therefore can't take it seriously. The group tests it performs are entirely predictable and if they feature a German car, you know the verdict before you turn the page.
winniethewoo 17 January 2016

Volvophile wrote: WhatCar? is

Volvophile wrote:

WhatCar? is one of the most intensely biased magazines around. It is practically a PR machine for the VW Group and BMW and I therefore can't take it seriously. The group tests it performs are entirely predictable and if they feature a German car, you know the verdict before you turn the page.

Out of all the brands I have tried (practically all of the common ones) Volvo rank near the bottom in terms of ride and handling. The everyday German cars are so far ahead in this regard it isnt even a competition.

winniethewoo 17 January 2016

Volvophile wrote: WhatCar? is

Volvophile wrote:

WhatCar? is one of the most intensely biased magazines around. It is practically a PR machine for the VW Group and BMW and I therefore can't take it seriously. The group tests it performs are entirely predictable and if they feature a German car, you know the verdict before you turn the page.

Would it surprise you to learn that r&d spend in terms of revenue, BMW and VAG vye for top position in the car industry and in terms of absolute spend, VAG topped every company in the world for R&D spending in 2013? Over 13Billion USD compared to say Volvo who spent 661Million Euros during the same year. Do you think this could be the source of their dominance, rather that blatant bias?

winniethewoo 17 January 2016

winniethewoo wrote:

winniethewoo wrote:
Volvophile wrote:

WhatCar? is one of the most intensely biased magazines around. It is practically a PR machine for the VW Group and BMW and I therefore can't take it seriously. The group tests it performs are entirely predictable and if they feature a German car, you know the verdict before you turn the page.

Would it surprise you to learn that r&d spend in terms of revenue, BMW and VAG vye for top position in the car industry and in terms of absolute spend, VAG topped every company in the world for R&D spending in 2013? Over 13Billion USD compared to say Volvo who spent 661Million Euros during the same year. Do you think this could be the source of their dominance, rather that blatant bias?

And just to be clear, in 2013 VAG's R&D spending topped every company in the world, not just every car company, every company that exists in every sector from oil to consumer electronics. Do you think that sort of money might make a difference?

elise503 18 January 2016

R & D Spend

All this goes to show that even with a massive R&D budget VAG still couldn't produce powertrains that were truly competitive in all areas without resorting to fitting defeat devices. Spending loads of cash is easily done in this business and not necessarily with anything good to show for it- see Dany Bahar at Lotus if you need convincing....
elise503 18 January 2016

R & D Spend

All this goes to show that even with a massive R&D budget VAG still couldn't produce powertrains that were truly competitive in all areas without resorting to fitting defeat devices. Spending loads of cash is easily done in this business and not necessarily with anything good to show for it- see Dany Bahar at Lotus if you need convincing....
winniethewoo 19 January 2016

elise503 wrote: All this goes

elise503 wrote:

All this goes to show that even with a massive R&D budget VAG still couldn't produce powertrains that were truly competitive in all areas without resorting to fitting defeat devices. Spending loads of cash is easily done in this business and not necessarily with anything good to show for it- see Dany Bahar at Lotus if you need convincing....

I think its a diesel problem, not a VAG problem. VAG were merely the first to get caught and the first to come clean. www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3259067/It-s-not-just-VW-Official-tester-claims-four-diesel-car-giants-break-toxic-emissions-limit.html

elise503 18 January 2016

R & D Spend

All this goes to show that even with a massive R&D budget VAG still couldn't produce powertrains that were truly competitive in all areas without resorting to fitting defeat devices. Spending loads of cash is easily done in this business and not necessarily with anything good to show for it- see Dany Bahar at Lotus if you need convincing....
elise503 18 January 2016

R & D Spend

All this goes to show that even with a massive R&D budget VAG still couldn't produce powertrains that were truly competitive in all areas without resorting to fitting defeat devices. Spending loads of cash is easily done in this business and not necessarily with anything good to show for it- see Dany Bahar at Lotus if you need convincing....
elise503 18 January 2016

R & D Spend

All this goes to show that even with a massive R&D budget VAG still couldn't produce powertrains that were truly competitive in all areas without resorting to fitting defeat devices. Spending loads of cash is easily done in this business and not necessarily with anything good to show for it- see Dany Bahar at Lotus if you need convincing....