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Opel Astra K Wins 2016 European Car of the Year

The new generation of Opel Astra hatchback has been voted Car of the Year in Europe for 2016, narrowly beating the Volvo XC90.
Opel Astra K Wins 2016 European Car of the Year 1 photo
Photo: Opel
As always, the decision was based on the votes placed by journalists from all over Europe only a few hours ago. But this is not the car equivalent of Eurovision, as the vehicles are judged on strictly defined characteristics, not their excellent singing voice or the originality of their costumes.

In any case, 2016 was one of the closest races we've witnessed in recent years. With 309 points, the Astra came out in front of the Volvo XC90 with 294 votes by only a small margin.

In third place, Mazda's brilliant little MX-5 Miata managed to score 202 points versus the 189 points of the Audi A4. Rounding up the big names, we have the Jaguar XE sedan with 163 points, the Skoda Superb with 147 points, and the BMW 7 Series with 143 points.

We have no way of telling precisely why the Astra K was victorious, but the Car of the Year voting system requires 58 journalists from 22 countries to distribute 25 points (each) to seven finalists without giving more than 10 to one car. Also, at least five cars need to get some points.

Last year, the Volkswagen Passat won, and a year before that the award was given to the Peugeot 308, which is a direct rival to the Opel Astra. In 2013, it was the VW Golf that took home the laurels. So even though Europeans buy more and more SUVs, they still love conventional cars... or, at least the journalist do. Opel is no stranger to this award, as four other cars from its portfolio previously won the title, including the Astra Mk2, Omega A, Insignia and Ampera.

Compared to its predecessor, the Astra K hatch is up to 441 lbs (200 kg) lighter, thus making better use of downsized engines. A better quality interior, LED headlights, advanced safety systems and a large boot may have contributed to its victory.

“The new Astra represents the start of a new era at Opel and victory in this year’s ‘Car of the Year’ competition shows that we are on the right track,” said Dr. Karl-Thomas Neumann. “It is an honor for us to receive such a prestigious award from leading automotive journalists.”
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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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