There is a prestigious motoring award called the Golden Steering Wheel and the Vauxhall/Holden/Opel Astra has just won the compact class.

It’s organised each year by AutoBild a German magazine publisher and their readers from 26 European countries, representing more than 40 million people vote for they top choice.
 
The all new Astra won by a comfortable margin, getting top marks for the engine, fuel consumption, chassis, braking, steering and driver assistance safety systems categories.

Race-drivers and technical experts also ranked the Astra at number one, awarding it seven out of eight points while automotive technical experts gave it five out of a possible eight.
 
 
The Golden Steering Wheel voting is organised in two rounds. In the first round, readers voted for their favorite vehicles, selecting a total of 46 in six different categories (small, compact, mid-upper, luxury, super-sport and commercial).

A panel of experts including motoring technicians, race-drivers, magazine editors and VIPs tested and judged the nominees on dynamics, comfort and build quality.

Opel are saying that this new Astra is the best vehicle Opel have ever built and the award goes to prove that all the efforts have paid off.

Again according to Opel this new Astra is lightweight, has a highly efficient engine, great luxury features, excellent connectivity and exemplary quality.

It’s a high-flyer in every sense as seen in the quantum leap video. Opel have already received more than 40,000 orders for the new Astra so we are wondering just how well it will go in Australia and New Zealand markets.

December 2015