The newVW Golf7 has been voted as the European Car of the Year for 2013. The renowned international ‘Car of the Year’ Award is an important achievement in the automotive industry and the winners were announced on 4 March 2013 in the run-up to the Geneva Motor Show.

Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of the Board of Management of the Volkswagen AG, stated, “This is a superb result and we are very proud of it. This most significant European award is the perfect final touch to the list of prizes we have already won. Over 29 million customers have made the Golf into the icon that it is. The new Golf will continue this success story.”

New VW Golf 7 outshines the competition

The panel of judges, consisting of 58 automotive journalists from 22 countries, nominated eight cars for the final judgement. The finalists were compared and evaluated according to a wide range of criteria including fuel efficiency, comfort, safety, driving properties, functionality, design and technological progress.

After the final vote, the VW Golf 7 came out as the winner with a total point score of 414. The Toyota GT-86 came in a distant second place with a score of 202 points, while the Volvo V40 came third with 189 points. The Golf 7 scored well for most of the criteria, including safety. The Golf 7 features a new Multi-Collision Braking System which slows the vehicle down automatically after an accident to reduce the remaining kinetic energy and thereby avoiding further collisions.

The Golf 7 was launched in South Africa in February 2013 and has since sold in excess of 760 units.

New VW Golf 7 – Price

The new VW Golf 7 model range comes standard with a 5-year/90 000km Service Plan, a 3-year/120 000km warranty and a 12-year anti-corrosion warranty. Service intervals are set at 15 000km.