The latest Vauxhall Astra has been named the winner of the 2016 European Car of the Year accolade during this year’s Geneva Motor Show.
This victory for the Astra means that a car from a General Motors-owned brand has won European Car of the Year three times in the last seven years. Previous winners include the Vauxhall Insignia back in 2009 and the Vauxhall Ampera (along with its sibling the Chevrolet Volt) in 2012.
Astra tops judges scoring system
The winner of this year’s European Car of the Year was decided upon by a jury of 58 motoring writers from across Europe. The seven finalists for this year’s accolade were road-tested by the jury members and each juror had 25 points to allocate among the contenders. Ten points was the maximum a single judge could allocate to one car.
It was the Vauxhall Astra that scored the most points in the end, specifically 309 in total, allowing it to beat contenders like the Volvo XC90 SUV which came second overall with 294 points.
The Mazda MX-5 meanwhile finished third overall with 202 points. Rounding up the shortlist is the Audi A4 which came fourth, the Jaguar XE in fifth, the Skoda Superb in sixth and finally the BMW 7 Series.
Vauxhall’s Chairman and Managing Director, Rory Harvey, commented: “To be named European Car of the Year by judges throughout Europe is a testament to the hard work that has gone into the Astra. This is the new model’s first full year of sales, and it has already been well-received.”
