28 September 2001: The Volkswagen Passat has claimed the UK-based magazine What Car?'s Used Car of the Year award, becoming the first car ever to take the title for two consecutive years.

The 1999 S-registered 1.8 SE Passat Saloon has taken over from the 1998 model as reigning champion, retaining all of the previous winner’s characteristics plus added value and better quality. The magazine claimed the car remains extremely sought-after and hence continues to depreciate slowly, these being the key ingredients of a cost-effective used car.

What Car? said of the 30,000-mile, Stg£9,545 car: ‘The scale of the (Passat’s) achievement cannot be overestimated, especially when you look at the extremely talented line up of category winners that were vying for the top spot. The Passat reigns supreme because it is sensational value and even better to live with.’ In fact the magazine claimed that, apart from the Ford Focus, the only other car in a position to topple the Passat 1.8 was its turbodiesel sibling.

‘Even by today’s standards,’ What Car? concluded, ‘a used Passat sets new standards for quality in a family car. It drives well, rides nicely, has plenty of space inside, is refined, safe, secure, reliable and cheap to run. In short, there are few better ways in which to transport you and your family for this sort of money. Or even for considerably more.’

The full results will be published on www.whatcar.com and in the November issue of What Car? which goes on sale on 2nd October. TW