New Golf named Car of the Year

The new Volkswagen Golf has been named international Car of the Year 2013, well ahead of the joint-entry Toyota GT86/Subaru BR-Z.

The announcement was made at a presentation event on the eve of the opening press day at the Geneva motor show.

Of 32 new models in contention this year the eight finalists were the: Ford B-Max; Hyundai i30; Mercedes A-Class; Peugeot 208; Renault Clio; Toyota GT86/Subaru BRZ; VW Golf; and Volvo V40.

The Car of the Year jury is made up of 58 motoring journalists from 22 European countries. In the final round of voting judges award 25 points with a maximum of 10 points to any one car.

The main criteria for voting are: technical progress; design; quality; and value for money. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the prestigious prize.

The final scores were: VW Golf 414 points; Toyota GT86/Subaru BR-Z 202; Volvo V40 189; Ford B-Max 148; Mercedes A-Class 138; Renault Clio 128; Peugeot 208 120; and Hyundai i30 111.

This correspondent, who is a member of the Car of the Year jury, voted: VW Golf - 8 points; Toyota GT86/Subaru BRZ - 6 points; Ford B-Max - 3 points; Renault Clio - 3 points Mercedes A-Class – 2 points; Volvo V40 - 2 points; and Peugeot 208 - 1 point.

Prior to voting jury members put the cars through their paces at several independent test events. Two weeks ago the finalists were inspected and driven at the independent test facility at Mortefontaine outside Paris.

The Mortefontaine facility is used by car firms and parts manufacturers during development of new models.