Geneva Motor Show kicks off; VW Golf named European Car of the Year
It may not come as a surprise to many, but Volkswagen鈥檚 latest-generation Golf hatchback, , has been named the 2013 European of the Year.
聽The winner, picked from an original , was announced last night at a special event preceding today鈥檚 .
聽The Golf managed to beat out its rivals by a wide margin, having taken home 414 points versus the 202 points of the second-placed Toyota GT 86/Subaru BRZ twins and 189 points of the Volvo V40 in third place.
聽A Golf hasn鈥檛 been named Europe鈥檚 favorite since the third-generation model picked up the prestigious title back in 1992. It鈥檚 now the only car, together with the Renault Clio, to have won the award more than once.
聽The latest model was recognized for its overall balance and the achievements in safety, , dynamics and comfort, brought about mainly by its . The jury also liked the premium and classically-styled interior as well as the Golf鈥檚 pleasant ride.
聽Each year, the European Car of the Year voting process is presided over by a panel of 59 jury members that represent 23 European countries and is made up mostly of journalists and other members of the auto industry.
聽To be eligible, all of the contenders have to be available now or before year鈥檚 end in five or more European markets. They also each have to have the prospect of at least 5,000 yearly sales, thus ruling out many of the exotic supercars the European continent is renowned for.
聽For the past two years running, electric cars have taken top honors at the awards. In 2011, it was the that edged out challengers like the Jaguar XJ and the Alfa Romeo Giulietta, while the 2012 award went to the , which beat out the Volkswagen up! and Ford Focus.
聽For Golf fans in the U.S., you'll have to wait until the first half of 2014 before being able to test one at your local Volkswagen dealer.
