Source: Inhabitat

Each year at the Los Angeles Auto Show, Green Car Journal announces the winner of its covetedGreen Car of the Year award – and this year the winner is… the all-new 2016 Chevy Volt! This year’s finalists included the Audi A3 e-tron, the Chevy Volt, the Honda Civic, the Hyundai Sonata andToyota Prius. Green Car Journal has been honoring the most important “green” vehicles each year since 2005, and according to the publication, the number of models to consider has been increasing each year.

Judges selected the 2016 Chevy Volt as this year’s Green Car of the Year due to its “sleek and sporty design, more energy-dense batteries, new electric motors, and quicker acceleration.” The 2016 Volt can now travel up to 53 miles on electricity alone, which is longer than any other plug-in hybrid on the market, except last year’s winner, the BMW i3. Once the battery is depleted a new 1.5L four-cylinder engine generates electricity to power the electric motor – giving the Volt a total driving range of 420 miles.

“This is the first time in Green Car of the Year history that a vehicle has won the award in two succeeding model generations,” said Ron Cogan, editor and publisher of Green Car Journal. “Considering all the brands and models evaluated in the award program, that’s quite a statement. The Chevrolet Volt was a standout when it won 2011 Green Car of the Year and continues in that role today as the 2016 Green Car of the Year.”