Ampera takes car of year award

The Vauxhall Ampera has been named European Car of the Year by automotive journalists from 23 countries.

The Ampera, which sells in the United States as the Chevrolet Volt and premiered at the Geneva Motor Show in 2009, is an electric car with an extended range of 300 miles.

It won with 330 votes out of a total 1475 cast, ahead of the Volkswagen Up! with 281 votes and the Ford Focus with 256.

The prestigious award made on the eve of the Geneva Motor Show is considered one of the most important in Europe and aims to indicate to consumers the car of the future.

The other finalists were the Range Rover Evoque, the Fiat Panda, the Citroen DS5, and the Toyota Yaris.