The Vauxhall Astra has been voted the European Car of the Year in what is widely acknowledged to be one of the stiffest competitions for many years. The new family hatchback scored 309 points from the 58-strong Jury (including Andrew English from Telegraph Cars) with theVolvo XC90 SUV in second place with 294 points and the Mazda MX-5with 202 points.
In a ceremony on the eve of the Geneva Motor Show where the points are added up Eurovision Song Contest style, Karl-Thomas Neumann, chairman of Opel and General Motor's president of Europe, received the trophy from Hakan Matson, the Coty jury president.
"You cannot believe how happy I am and for the team that created this car," said Neumann.
