(Mon 16 Nov 09)

The Association of Scottish Motoring Writers has named the Land Rover Discovery as its Scottish Car of the Year for 2009.

ASMW President Bill Caven commented during the presentation, "4x4s remain a necessity for motoring north of the border. Being able to boldly go regardless of the weather conditions has ensured the Scots' love affair with off-roaders remains as strong as ever. Despite its obvious role as a workhorse, the latest generation Land Rover Discovery 4 does not compromise on comfort, refinement or driving dynamics. The best just got better."

This award very nearly coincided with an important anniversary for Land Rover. The original Discovery was launched on 16 November 1989.

The Discovery also won the SUV category, and by some margin. Other winners were the Volkswagen Polo (Small Car), Mazda3 (Family), Audi A4 allroad (Executive), Ford Focus RS (Sporting), BMW Z4 (Drop Top), Citroen C3 Picasso (MPV) and Jaguar XF 3.0d (Diesel). A new Eco section, created this year, was shared by Honda for the Insight and BMW for its EfficientDynamics programme.

The President's Award, which is generally given to someone in the motor industry who does excellent work without being sufficiently recognised for it, went to Bob Wright, the administrator of Ford's press fleet.

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