For 30 years now, German motoring magazine “Auto Zeitung” has conducted a readers’ survey to decide the winners of the “Auto Trophy – World’s Best Cars” award. And BMW is celebrating a quadruple success in this year’s anniversary poll. The brand’s quartet of class winners in the Auto Trophy 2017 extents a broad section of the Munich-based premium car maker’s model line-up. The BMW 3 Series emerged successfully in the midsize class, the new BMW 5 Series topped the rankings in the executive class, the new BMW X3 beat off its entire rival and the BMW i3 was the winner of the “Electric Cars” category.
The Auto Trophy – World’s Best Cars award is one of the most renowned in the automotive industry and, with its three decades of history, has one of the longest traditions. The latest edition of the survey was based on feedback from readers of both Auto Zeitung and – for the fourth time – the magazine’s international partner titles and online portals. The respondents chose their favorite models across 16 vehicle classes and two special categories to decide the winners of the Auto Trophy 2017.
The BMW i3 notched up a particularly resounding victory in the “Electric Cars” category, accounting for 35.6 per cent of the vote. Launched four years ago as the first premium car designed from the outset with an all-electric drive system, the i3 has been the highest-selling electric vehicle in Germany since 2014. The eDrive technology developed by the BMW Group lies on generous portions of sustainable driving pleasure.
The winner of the Auto Trophy 2017 in the midsize class was the BMW 3 Series. Its conclusive 17.7 per cent share of the vote underlines once more the enduring popularity of this bestselling model, whose appeal has been further enhanced with the addition to the line-up of new special-edition variants of the Sedan and Touring variants. And the BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo – whose vehicle concept is unique in the midsize class – has also contributed to the market success enjoyed by the latest model generation.
The BMW 5 Series has strengthened its leading position in terms of driving dynamics, comfort and connectivity once again this year with the introduction of a new model generation. It was the same story in the Auto Trophy 2017 poll, where the new 5 Series claimed a clear victory with 26.3 per cent of the votes in the “Executive Class” category. The new BMW 5 Series is lighter than the predecessor (which won the title in 2015) and more efficient too. Added to which, the new 5 Series Sedan and new 5 Series Touring take another step on the road to automated driving with the inclusion of cutting-edge driver assistance systems.
The new BMW X3 rounds off Munich’s quartet of Auto Trophy winners. The third generation of the midsize Sports Activity Vehicle had won over the readers of Auto Zeitung and its partner publications before it was even launched, thanks to a sharply contoured design, further refined premium ambience in the interior and significant advances in functionality, comfort and connectivity.