► Astra grabs Europe’s top prize
► Volvo XC90 second, Mazda MX-5 third
► How the Vauxhall won
The Vauxhall Astra has been crowned Car of the Year 2016 at the 2016 Geneva motor show, by a jury of 58 European motoring writers including two from CAR.
The Astra scored 309 points, beating off the challenge of the Volvo XC90, which netted 294 to scoop the silver medal. Mazda’s MX-5 secured the bottom step on the podium. The other four cars on the shortlist were, in order of ranking, the Audi A4, Jaguar XE, Skoda Superb and BMW 7-series.
Click here to find out how CAR editor Phil McNamara voted.
Third win for GM in seven years
It’s the third time that GM has clinched the award in the last seven years: the Insignia won back in 2009, with the plug-in hybrid Ampera sharing the trophy with its sister car, the Chevrolet Volt, three years later.
The 58 jurors nominated their favourite all-new cars launched in 2015, which was amalgamated into a shortlist of seven. This list provided a refreshing change from the usual suspects, devoid of any French and Italian contenders, and with four premium brands represented in Audi, BMW, Jaguar and Volvo.
The jury members then road-tested each of the seven finalists back to back, and decided their individual order. Each juror has 25 points to allocate among the contenders; no car can score more than 10 points, and the top ranked car has to be given at least one point more than the next-placed contender.
How CAR’s judges voted
CAR’s Phil McNamara scored the Skoda Superb top with six points, ranking the Astra next with five and awarding four to the Mazda MX-5.
Our other jury member, Georg Kacher, ranked the Astra top, and gave the other cars four points each.
Click here for our Geneva motor show homepage.