VW Touareg, Audi A8 win top awards

Two prestigious new products from Volkswagen's stable have collected one of Germany's top awards, the Golden Steering Wheel.

The VW Touareg, the company's first sports utility vehicle, collected nearly 30 per cent of the votes in the four-wheel-drive category, beating the BMW X5 and Porsche Cayenne.

And the luxury Audi A8 won the luxury class category, seeing off the BMW 7-Series and Mercedes-Benz S-Class. For the first time the jury, mostly rally and race drivers, had a chance to try out the dynamic qualities of the competing cars on a race track.

"Even in this very sporting environment, the A8 excelled as it did in the areas of design, equipment and comfort," said the judges.

The Golden Steering Wheel has been awarded since 1975 for the best new cars of the year. This award for the A8 is the 12th victory for Audi. The first-generation A8 also won the award.

Both the A8 and Touareg will go on sale in New Zealand next year. The Touareg has created a big impression since it was unveiled at the Paris show in September.

It was launched on an off-road course in Spain, where critics said it rivals the Range Rover.