No fewer than 12 cars received the prestigious German car award Das Goldene Lenkrad. The Porsche Taycan, Polestar 2 and Opel Corsa E, among others, have received such a golden steering wheel.
In Germany in particular, the Goldene Lenkrad is a prize with prestige, perhaps even more than the European title Car of the Year. Readers of the Bild am Sonntag and AutoBild compiled a shortlist of three cars in eight categories based on a long list of new cars, after which a 14-member jury subjected these cars to practical tests at the Lausitzring. That jury included prominent German figures, drivers (including Daniel Abt and Hans-Joachim Stuck), technicians and journalists. Damiaan Hage, editor-in-chief of Techzle, was also one of 14 this year.
A special feature is the large number of plug-in cars that made it to the final round. Of the 24 cars, 13 were electric or plug-in hybrid. This is the result:
Compact cars
1 Opel Corsa E 2 Hyundai i20 3 Volkswagen e-Up
Middle class
1 Audi A3 Sportback 2 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe 3 Seat Leon
Compact SUVs
1 Ford Puma 2 Mazda MX-30 3 Volkswagen T-Roc Cabriolet
Mid-range SUVs
1 Polestar 2 2 Cupra Formentor 3 Ford Kuga
Larger SUVs
1 Kia Sorento 2 BMW X6 3 Aston Martin DBX
Mid-range SUVs PHEV
1 Volkswagen Tiguan eHybrid 2 BMW X2 xDrive 25e 3 Volvo XC40 Recharge T5
Mid-range / top-class hybrids
1 BMW 330e 2 Audi A6 50 TFSI e 3 Audi A7 55 TFSI e
Sports cars
1 Porsche Taycan 2 Ferrari SF90 Stradale 3 Polestar 1
In addition to these eight car categories, four more prizes were awarded by the editors of AutoBild and Bild am Sonntag. There were still golden steering wheels for the most beautiful car (Porsche Taycan), best innovation (1 million kilometer warranty on Lexus UX300e battery), best car under € 25,000 (Hyundai i20) and best car under € 35,000 (Seat Leon).