Opel’s Astra, a long trusted small hatchback model, has been officially named Car of the Year for 2016, according to several European auto journalists. The C-segment hatchback took a victorious 312 points, edging out a win over Volvo XC90 and its 294 points, according to Autoblog. A large number of panelists nominated Mazda MX-5 Miata as their favorite, but the combined scores only awarded the Japanese roadster a total of 202 points. That was still enough, however, to edge out the other finalists, including the Audi A4, Jaguar XE, Skoda Superb and BMW 7 Series. The Astra is GM’s European challenger to the likes of the Volkswagen Golf and Ford Focus. It’s marketed as a Vauxhall in the UK and Opel on the European continent. The award is handed out by a combined panel of 58 jurists representing Auto in Italy, Autocar in the UK, Autopista in Spain, Autovisie in the Netherlands, L’Automobile in France, Stern in Germany and Vibilagare in Sweden.
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