February 11, 2008

The Audi R8 has left it’s rivals in it’s wake from a standing start according the most recent MSN car of the year poll. The new Audi posted 42% of the vote ahead of the Ferrari Scuderia (13%) and the BMW M3 (11%)

The MSN Car of the year award offers prestigious recognition from the motoring public of the UK. In total 36,842 votes were registered, showing both how popular the award is but also how well regarded the R8 has become in such a short space of time. The other winners in the vote were the new Fiat 500, polling 6% of the vote and the Ford Mondeo with 9%. The popularity of the flagship Ford is testament to how good a car it is, with so many on the road anything less than excellence would get ignored by the public at large.

The MSN car of the year top ten are as follows:-

1. Audi R8 42%
2. Ferrari 430 Scuderia 13%
3. BMW M3 11%
4. Ford Mondeo 9%
5. Rolls-Royce Phantom DHC 7%
6. Fiat 500 6%
7. Mercedes-Benz C-Class 6%
8. Mini Clubman 2%
9. Mitsubishi i-car 2%
10. Mazda 2 1%

The findings indicate that the UK motoring public are largely aspirational in their choice of car but at the same time are showing pragmatism and reward for long term performance to the likes of the Mondeo and the Mini clubman. Rolls Royce’s prestige is unhindered by it's BMW ownership but the desire for sports cars is strong, hence the inclusion of the Phantom DHC in the top ten. The flagship convertable come with a pricetag more suited to a house in the South East and retains an affection in the UK. The British motoring public appreciate reliability and quality and the inclusion of the Mitsubishi i-car shows how seriously people are taking the issue of economical, city vehicles and by proxy the climate issues that are increasingly having an impact on the motoring industry.

Overall though the poll is a huge triumph for Audi. Polling over three times more votes than their nearest rivals and almost half of the vote is the most convincing win in the surveys 4 year history. “The fact that the R8 has been voted Car of the Year by such a sizeable number of MSN Cars readers is another very positive sign that our first ever thoroughbred sports car has really hit the mark with British buyers,” said Audi UK’s head of public relations, Jon Zammett.

The Audi R8 is the must have car for 2008 and with a price tag around £80k is more affordable than many of it’s supercar rivals.

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