The Vauxhall Insignia has been named 2009 European Car of The Year (CoTY), winning by just one point.
The family car, which is available as a hatchback, saloon and estate, won the title with 321 points to the Ford Fiesta's 320. The Volkswagen Golf came in third place with 223 points.
The competition is decided by the votes of 59 motoring journalists from 23 European countries.
Vauxhall's parent company General Motors had not won the CoTY title since 1987. Since then Ford has won three times, Renault four times and Fiat five times.
Phil McNamara, who represented Car magazine in the voting, said that the Insignia has "nicely weighted steering and an eager gearchange, a supple ride, decent refinement and a good spread of performance from the engines".
He continued: "The cabin is inspired, with a prow like a speedboat's, and quality switchgear. Unlike its predecessor [the Vectra], the Insignia is a desirable car, which should excite its fleet customer base."
Last year's title went to the Fiat 500, which won by 385 points over the Mazda 2, which was awarded 325. Ford's Mondeo rounded off the top three with 202 points.
