THE Volkswagen Polo is Britain's best used car, beating 14 other vehicles to the top title in the first annual CAP Used Car of the Year Awards. Voted Best Supermini in the Used Car Awards from trade experts CAP Motor Research, the Polo went on to take the overall title beating vehicles ranging from its Golf stablemate, the Vauxhall Vectra and Peugeot 406 to the BMW 3-series and Porsche 911.

The awards were judged by a team of used car market and technical experts from CAP who looked at every vehicle available in the UK.

Daren Wiseman, senior editor of CAP Black Book, the trade's guide to used car values, said: 'The Polo is a strong used car: it is economical, has excellent build quality and a strong warranty. It also has the Volkswagen badge which gives it added kudos.

Other category winners were: Best City Car, Ford Ka; Best Lower Medium Car, Volkswagen Golf; Best Upper Medium (Petrol) Car, Vauxhall Vectra; Best Upper Medium (Diesel) Car, Peugeot 406; Best Small Prestige Car, BMW 3-series; Best Medium Prestige Car, Mercedes-Benz E-Class; Best Large Prestige Car, BMW 7 Series; Best Fun Sports Car, Mazda MX-5; Best Serious Sports Car, Porsche 911; Best Small 4x4, Toyota RAV 4; Best Large 4x4, Mitsubishi Shogun; Best MPV, Renault Espace; Best Car-derived Van, Vauxhall Astravan; Best Newcomer, Peugeot 206.