Volkswagen Golf wins Europe's Car of the Year award in decisive fashion

On Monday, the Volkswagen Golf won the 2013 European Car of the Year award in grand fashion. Volkswagen’s all-new Golf earned 414 points, which was more than twice as much as the runner up, the Toyota GT86/Subaru BRZ. The Volvo V40, Ford B-Max, Mercedes-Benz A-Class, Renault Clio, Peugeot 208 and Hyundai i30 rounded out the field. Fifty-eight judges from 22 European countries made the decision, which was announced today at the Geneva Motor Show in Geneva, Switzerland.

This is the second time the Golf has won the prestigious honor. The third-generation Volkswagen Golf previously won in 1992, besting the Vauxhall Astra and Citroën ZX. The third-generation Golf earned 276 total points. Aside from the Golf, the Volkswagen Polo, a super-mini car, also won the award in 2010, making it the only other Volkswagen model to win.

Introduced in 1974, the Volkswagen Golf is a globally marketed subcompact car. Over its seven generations the Golf has undergone several nameplates including the Volkswagen Rabbit and in the United States and the Volkswagen Caribe in Mexico. The Golf was initially introduced as front-wheel drive, front-engine replacement for the rear-wheel drive, rear-engine Volkswagen Beetle. The Golf is Volkswagen’s best-selling model and the second best-selling model worldwide, with over 29 million vehicles built.

Aside from a pair of Europe’s Car of the Year awards, the Volkswagen Golf has earned many other accolades since its inception. Last year, the Golf Mk7 was named “The All The Car You’ll Ever Need Car of the Year 2012” by Top Gear magazine. In 2010, the Golf was named to Kelly Blue Book’s list of “Top 10 Green Cars for 2010,” and won the World Car of the Year. Not to mention, the Golf has been named in the Car and Driver “10 Best” list numerous times.

Established in 1964 by a collective of European automobile magazines, the European Car of the Year award is one Europe’s most premiere awards and consumers an idea of what automotive experts think the car of the future is. The goal of the judges is to declare a “single, decisive winner,” hence there are no categories or class winners.

The award is currently organized by Auto (Italy), Autocar (UK), Autopista (Spain), Autovisie (Netherlands) L’Automobile Magazine (France), Stern (Germany) and Vi Bilägare (Sweden). Representation from each of this year’s 22 countries was based on the size of the country’s car market and car manufacturing industry.