• Range Rover Evoque wins the title of Diesel Car, Car of the Year 2012.
• Chevrolet Volt and Vauxhall Ampera jointly win Best Eco Car of the Year 2012.
• Kia snatches class honours for best small car with the Rio.
• Land Rover wins both best crossover and best 4×4 with Evoque and Discovery 4 respectively.
• SEAT wins best MPV for the second year in a row.
• Skoda’s Superb takes the triple in the best estate car class.
• Peugeot’s sleek and sexy RCZ grabs the best sports car title for the third year running.
• Ford’s Focus wins best medium car title for the second year in succession.
• Citroën’s strikingly different DS5 takes the top spot in the large car class.

In what has been a fantastic 12 months of new car debuts, Diesel Car magazine is extremely proud to announce the winners of its coveted annual Car of the Year Awards 2012. This year, it is the sensational Range Rover Evoque that is in pole position, grabbing the title of Diesel Car, Car of the Year 2012. The Chevrolet Volt and Vauxhall Ampera share the title of Best Eco Car of the Year 2012.

Diesel Car’s expert road testers have tirelessly put every brand new car on the market through a stringent test programme, identifying the best in ten different segments. It is from a shortlist of 30, that the class winners are announced today. This year, the Car of the Year awards is sponsored by Celtic Tuning – one of the leading companies in diesel engine tuning with over 22 years of experience.

Kia’s new Rio has made a big impression on the Diesel Car road testers, grabbing the best small car title, Citroën’s bold new DS5 is awarded best large car, while BMW’s all-new 3 Series wins the best executive car title. The Range Rover Evoque not only wins the Car of the Year title, it’s also the best crossover too.

Many of the class winners have been presented with gongs before, with the Ford Focus grabbing the best medium car spot for the second year running and Skoda’s Superb awarded the best estate car title for the third year in succession. The SEAT Alhambra is named best MPV for the second time, and Peugeot’s curvaceous RCZ wins the best sports car title for the third occasion. Land Rover’s Discovery 4 is also back for the third time in the best 4×4 category.

Ian Robertson, Editor of Diesel Car Magazine said “Every year, the judging gets more and more difficult thanks to a brace of top-class new entries into the marketplace.” He added “From the moment the Range Rover Evoque was revealed, it was clear it was going to be a winner and we are so pleased to name the Range Rover Evoque Diesel Car’s Car of the Year 2012.” He went on to say “It looks sensational, is neatly kitted out, has exemplary road manners and comes with a price tag that doesn’t usually grace a Range Rover-badged product. It’s a car that its British workforce can truly be proud of.”

The Awards issue of Diesel Car magazine goes on sale online at www.dieselcaronline.co.uk and in all good newsagents on Friday 11th May 2012. It’s also available for the iPad via the Apple App Store on iTunes.

Diesel Car, Car of the Year Award Winners 2012

Best small car                          Kia Rio

Best medium car                      Ford Focus

Best large car                          Citroën DS5

Best executive car                    BMW 3 Series

Best estate car                          Skoda Superb

Best MPV                                 SEAT Alhambra

Best crossover                         Range Rover Evoque

Best 4×4                                   Land Rover Discovery 4

Best sports car                         Peugeot RCZ

Best eco car                             Chevrolet Volt and Vauxhall Ampera

Car of the Year 2012                 Range Rover Evoque