History of the diesel car Peugeot Citroën introduced the XUD engine in the Peugeot 305, Peugeot 205 and Talbot Horizon. This was the class leading automotive diesel engine until the mid-1990s. The first mass market turbo diesel was the XUD powered, 1988 Citroën BX and then the 1989 Peugeot 405, they gave power and refinement approaching petrol engine standards, with the best chassis in their class. Diesel Car magazine said of the Citroën BX "We can think of no other car currently on sale in the UK that comes anywhere near approaching the BX Turbo's combination of performance, accommodation and economy". These were the cars
European Car of the Year this award, and only the second Volkswagen-badged car ever to win it. Then came two years of success for electric-powered cars, with the British-built Nissan Leaf and United States-built (Opel) Vauxhall Ampera/Chevrolet Volt winning the 2011 and 2012 award respectively. The Volkswagen Golf (having previously won in 1992) then joined the Renault Clio with the distinction of two wins in the contest when the MK7 version won the 2013 award. One of the Golf's key rivals, the Peugeot 308, was the next winner. In 2015, was awarded the Volkswagen Passat. In 2016, the Opel/Vauxhall Astra, another key rival to the