BMW and MINI: Two brands – seven awards. BMW and MINI take four firsts in the “Good looks/style” category of the German Auto Bild readers’ survey “The best brands” and another three top slots in special categories.

Munich. BMW and MINI recorded seven first places in the “The best brands in all classes” poll of just under 100,000 readers carried out by German motoring magazine Auto Bild. Three of these came courtesy of BMW in the “Good looks/style” category for mid-range, executive and luxury-class cars, while MINI came top of the “Best design” rankings for small cars. BMW also led the way in the “Sporty engines”, “Advanced technology” and “Well-connected cars” categories.

A variety of design elements have come together over several decades to form the distinctive design DNA of BMW. Each new BMW offers a fresh take on these characteristic features and, in so doing, brings its own distinctive flavour to the fore. BMW has always been a standard-bearer of groundbreaking automotive design, using pioneering innovations to establish a constant stream of new landmarks. Auto Bild readers agreed: over 80 per cent of those surveyed ranked BMW as the leading mid-range, executive and luxury car brand in the “Good looks/style” category.

MINI design is based on a clear design language and represents the evolutionary progression of the classic Mini born in 1959. Following in these small-car tyre tracks, MINI wraps originality and intelligence in the smallest possible package. The consistent expansion of the MINI brand family reflects the success of MINI design in breathing new life into the brand’s underlying values – and using this as a springboard to develop authentic and fascinating perspectives for the future of the brand. This is a view shared by 87 per cent of the readers questioned for the survey, who voted MINI the number-one small car in the “Good looks/style” category.

As well as earning praise for its design, BMW also finished top of three other image categories. 88 per cent of those taking part in the poll chose BMW in the special category “Sporty engines”. And BMW also accounted for the largest portion of the “Well-connected cars” vote: 90 per cent of those surveyed cited BMW’s future-focused ConnectedDrive technology, extolling the convenience of internet-based services as well as the wide range of infotainment options and the reassuring driver assistance systems. Bayerische Motoren Werke also led the way in “Advanced technology” thanks to its arsenal of pioneering systems and developments. Here, a convincing majority of votes – 91 per cent – went to the BMW brand.

2012 was the second year of “The best brands in all classes” readers’ poll (published in the latest issue of Auto Bild), BMW and MINI also having secured several top placings the previous year.