Dacia Duster: Scottish Car of The Year

The Dacia Duster drove off with the prestigious Scottish Car of the Year title.

An audience of over 200 people drawn from all aspects of the motoring industry included members of the Association of Scottish Motoring Writers who select the winner.

To take the overall title, the Dacia Duster (part of the Renault group) had first to win its own category and then defeat tough opposition from the other category winners in a final vote. Three additional categories were added to the awards this year due to the sheer volume of new cars launched even in the midst of a recession. The category winners were drawn from the following: Compact, Supermini, Family, Drop Top, Exec Hatch, Exec Saloon, SUV, Sporting, Eco, Electric, Diesel, Estate, MPV and Coupe.

Competition was strong right across the board and the Compact category was won by Volkswagen's excellent up! with its sibling Skoda Citigo in second place. The rise of the Korean brand Kia continued with the Rio taking victory in the Supermini category. The Family category was won by another Korean brand with Hyundai's i30 taking top spot ahead of the Citroen DS5 and another Hyundai product the i40.

The Porsche Boxster was a clear winner in the Drop Top category ahead of the Mini Roadster. Volvo's V40 scored a win in the Exec Hatch section with the BMW 1 Series in second place.

BMW took the win in the Exec Saloon segment with the superb new 3-Series and another BMW - the 6-Series GT in second place.

The Dacia Duster was the clear winner of the SUV category with Mazda's CX-5 the runner-up. The Sporting category saw a win for the Vauxhall Astra VXR, while the Eco title went to Citroen for their DS5 HYBRID4.

In the Electric category the innovative Ampera/Volt with its range extender system was the victor with Renault's Twizy and Fluence offerings taking the runners-up spots. BMW's excellent 320d was a clear winner in the Diesel category ahead of Mazda's CX-5.

Hyundai scored another win in the Estate segment with its i30 while the MPV title was taken by Vauxhall's Zafira. The stunning Toyota GT86 was a deserved winner of the Coupe title.

In addition three other awards were presented on the night. Sponsored by Bridge of Weir Leather, the Design Concept was won by Jaguar's C-X16 ahead of Land Rover's DC100. The Budget award went to the Dacia Duster with Suzuki's Alto in second place.

Volvo for its pedestrian airbag on the V40 and Mazda for its Smart City Brake Support low speed accident avoidance system shared the Safety Award.

Credits: wilswong