OPEL Astra wins S.A. Car of the Year title

The new Opel Astra is the Wesbank South African Guild of Motoring Journalists' 2017 Car of the Year, making South Africa the thirteenth country where the Opel Astra has been recognised as a Car of the Year since its global introduction in 2015. The latest accolade comes on the back of a multitude of awards both here and abroad for the 11th-generation Astra. The most significant of these is the European Car of the Year for 2016, widely considered the most prestigious prize in the world of motoring. It also picked up the 2015 SAFETYBEST Award and the 2015 Golden Steering Wheel. This is the fourth win for the German manufacturer in the South African Car of the Year competition. Facing tough competition in this year’s 10-vehicle strong line-up – vehicles which all represent the best of the best from a wide cross-section of segments and price points – the popular Opel Astra is a worthy contestant, ultimately taking South Africa’s most prestigious motoring prize. Car buying patterns of the southern African public are changing and Astra reflects those changes in terms of offering both value for money as well as new and innovative technology.