Volkswagen's VW Golf voted carsguide.com.au car of the year Real cars driven on real roads by real people. This is the credo of Carsguide Car of the year. Carsguide Car of the year ... VW Golf 90TSI Comfortline. VOLKSWAGEN'S ever-popular Golf has been voted Carguide's Car of the Year. Described as the "hatchback Roll-Royce would make," the VW Golf was voted in first place by seven of the 10 judges for Carsguide's Car of the Year. In its seventh generation the compact Volkswagen has already won the World and European car of the years trophies. Since its introduction in 1974 as the replacement for the legendary Beetle, 30 million Golfs of all generations have sold including almost 150,000 in Australia. Take a look at Carsguide 2013 finalist, the VW Golf. It remains VW's best-selling line, averaging more than 16,000 sales a year here, putting it in the top 10 most popular models. The Golf range was represented in Car of the Year judging by the $27,490 90 TSI Comfortline with DSG transmission. It beat a diverse group of nine other affordable cars released since December 2012. The Golf was joined on the podium by the Mazda6 diesel Touring Wagon. The luxurious family wagon accrued three first place votes and no judge placed it lower than second. At $41,650 the Mazda was felt to surpass prestige cars of twice the price. Take a look at Carsguide 2013 finalist, the Mazda6 Touring Carsguide Car of the year runner-up ... Mazda6 diesel Touring Wagon. Picture: Jack Atley Source: Supplied The surprise third place getter was Kia's Rondo SLi ($36,490), another diesel, but in the form of a compact people mover. Judges agreed that the car's flexibility - it carries seven people or folds six seats flat for cargo - made it a far smarter family vehicle than the inevitable SUV. Take a look at Carsguide 2013 finalist, the Kia Rondo Carsguide Car of the year third place ... Kio Rondo SLi diesel. Holden's final and cheapest ever Commodore, the VF Evoke, was the sentimental favourite but could do no better than sixth place. Craig Duff said: "It's an old car, out of its time." Judges uniformly found it an inferior family car to the Mazda6. The panel was "won over by the Golf's class and refinement" and noted that cabin space equalled a big car from the 1990s. "Never has a small car so seamlessly combined the abilities of a suburban family vehicle and a long-distance tourer," the panel said. Its 1.4-litre turbo petrol engine is as amiable and economical or as spirited and responsive as you could want in a road car.  Volkswagen Australia managing director John White said the company was "proud and delighted" with the victory. "This is the second time the Golf has received the award and with such a competitive market, it is a great pleasure to be recognised for delivering such an exceptional car.," he said. The Golf continues to deliver a unique combination of advance technology, quality, refinement and affordability. To build a new Golf that delivers more for our customers without demanding more from them is a remarkable testament to the team of designers, engineers and craftsman who created it. Carsguide's credo is "real cars driven on real roads for real people." Take a look at Carsguide 2013 finalist, the Mercedes Benz A200. Although the top 10 represented eight different brands from six countries separated by as much as $20,000, all are affordable and automatic. There were big family cars, SUVS medium and mini, hatchbacks and a people mover. Carsguide's Prestige Car of the Year was won by the Mercedes-Benz A45 AMG, which brings six figure performance to a $74,900 hatchback. Previously the least expensive AMG car was the $150,000 C63. Until now AMG's have V8s, but the compact A45 uses the world's most powerful four cylinder production engine and is the fastest car under $100,000. "It represents the democratisation of our performance brand," Mercedes-Benz spokesman David McCarthy said. 1 VW Golf 2 Mazda6 3 Kia Rondo 4 Benz A200 5 Renault Clio 6 Holden Commodore 7 Subaru Forester 8 Volvo V40 9 Kia Cerato 10 Holden Trax Mercedes-Benz A45 AMG Carsguide Prestige Car of the Year ... Mercedes Benz A45 AMG.