The Vauxhall Insignia beat off competition from the new VW Golf, Renault Megane and Ford Fiesta, and won the very prestigious Car of the Year award for 2009. The scoring was very close and in fact the Insignia won by only one point, over second-placed Ford Fiesta and the Golf came third.

The competition is now in its 46^th year and is chosen by 59 motoring journalists from 23 countries across Europe. The judges had 25 points each to distribute among at least five of the shortlisted finalists. Design, comfort, safety, handling, economy, eco features and price all counted, with value for money and innovation especially important.

“This is the closest COTY competition for years,” commented Ray Hutton, president of the 59-strong jury of senior motoring journalists drawn from 23 European countries. The Insignia has a combination of strong looks, a quality interior and a smooth drive and it a very worthy winner.

It certainly has more style about it than anything we’ve seen before from Vauxhall and the sharp design continues on the inside. Road manners for the Insignia while strong are perhaps not as good as Mondeo but as I noted at the time, most drivers will probably not notice.