[Envoy4Life]

Car for the Course: Our Champion is a Jackrabbit of All Trades.
MotorTrend
January 2015
By: Rory Jurnecka

It might be hard to believe, but in a four-decade lifespan, Volkswagen's Golf has only run away with our Golden Calipers once before, in 1985. Also interesting is the fact that the GTI that won our Car of the Year award 30 years ago was deemed our "domestic" COTY at a time when we still categorized imported cars into their own award. The domestic tag was because the 1985 GTI was constructed at Volkswagen's now-defunct Pennsylvania plant, which was shuttered three years later. A lot has changed in the intervening years. Volkswagen is once again producing cars in the U.S., and the Volkswagen Golf, including the GTI, is once again our Car of the Year. For 2015, the Golf was a near-unanimous choice among our judges by virtue of its strong performance in each of our six Car of the Year criteria.

Full article available at link.

 

[Envoy4Life]

Similar to the CR-V, there were better choices IMHO.

 

[roy219]

Similar to the CR-V, there were better choices IMHO.

Which contenders do you think are better than MQB Golf?

 

[Ambalanche]

So they say the Golf is the BEST in it's segment huh? MT has really lost it!

 

[voyager]

It's also a British favorite. What if VW got rid of the dull styling? Like VW did with the new Passat.

 

[Envoy4Life]

Which contenders do you think are better than MQB Golf?

 

[91fairladyZ]

This is the reason we need the Astra here. Something that's good at everything.

 

[CJH]

I do love the GTI, its probably the most "mature" of the segment and gets better with every generation.

Love how they list the Volvo as "near Luxury" and the Acura as "Luxury", LOL. #FAIL

Kind of underwhelmed by the list, to be honest.

 

[Pisswilly]

C'mon, you gotta be kidding, right?

 

[big swede]

Not surprising with the reviews it's been getting from everyone. They also have so many variations that there is something for just about everyone.

 

[Envoy4Life]

C'mon, you gotta be kidding, right?

No...?

 

[BuickGNX]

Agreed -- There is no way to justify this evolutionary design for car of the year. VW must have just bought a huge ad buy from Motor Trend....... Motor Trend is garbage.

 

[FenwickHockey65]

Seriously?

 

[63impala]

C'mon, you gotta be kidding, right?

If this were any other year, the Chrysler 200 might have won. There was a time when cars won the (once) coveted COTY award because they were an all-new vehicle that was impressive in its class. No more. MT must keep changing their guidelines to please their readers, who are fewer and farther between these days (I believe). Complain about who wins this year, and once MT gets an earful, they will appease some other group.

 

[GG_TECH]

Motor Trend just went irrelevant....

 

[Twinpeaksr]

Exterior looks like a Saturn from the early 2000's...so is that historical charm?

 

[goatgary]

When did MT get bought by CR?

 

[FenwickHockey65]

Isn't one of the criteria "advancement in design" or something like that?

 

[roy219]

No...?

Chrysler 200?! It's a mediocre vehicle at best. True, it's not utterly putrid like the previous generation 200, but that isn't a qualification for Car of the Year.

 

[roy219]

So they say the Golf is the BEST in it's segment huh?

Golf is best in its segment, but that's not necessarily a criterion for Car of the Year. The comparison group is "passenger cars and minivans that are new or significantly refreshed for 2015."

And Golf makes a very solid case for the award. It's a car that does just about everything well.