The Insignia is awarded Car of the Year 2009

The Car of the Year jury is made up of 59 senior members of motoring journalists from 23 countries. Their objective is to choose the most outstanding new car to go on sale in the past 12 months. To be eligible for Car of the Year, a car must be launched within the past 12 months and must be available in at least five European countries.

Jurors vote twice: first to select a short-list of seven from the new cars launched in Europe, then again to choose the winner. The Insignia polled 321 votes to beat this year’s favoured contender the Ford Fiesta by a solitary point. The Volkswagen Golf on 223 points was third.

Points allotted to the other Car of the year finalists were the Citroen C5 198, Alfa Romeo MiTo 148, Skoda Superb 144 and Renault Megane 121. The competition’s first stage was in October, when jurors chose seven finalists from a field of 37 contenders. It was the closest competition for years the Vauxhall/Opel Insignia received most votes from twenty of the international jurors while the Fiesta was placed first by nineteen of them.

By Geraldine Ashton-Green