European car buffs have handed the Opel Astra its first major trophy last night in Berlin, winning the Goldene Lenkrad (Golden Steering Wheel) in the compact class. It is the most prestigious award issued by the Axel Springer Group’s Auto Bild magazines. This year’s election involved readers in 26 European countries, representing more than 40 million readers overall.

The New Opel Astra won by a comfortable margin, getting top marks in the engine, energy consumption, chassis, braking, steering and safety relevant driver assistance categories. Motor sport drivers and technical experts ranked the Astra number one. The racers gave the Astra seven out of eight points. Technical experts awarded the compact car five out of eight.