Four sleeps to go...
Wheels will again announce its Car Of The Year on television’s A Current Affair, with a two-part COTY special on Tuesday night.
But in the countdown to next week’s big
Wheels COTY announcement, we can tell you that the UK’s
What Car? Magazine has given its big gong to a car which didn’t even feature in
Wheels’ calculations. Simply because it’s not yet on sale here…
Jaguar’s new XF beat 14 other category winners to claim the big-selling UK magazine’s top award. The markedly different new Jag doesn’t arrive in Australian showrooms until June this year.
What Car? editor, Steve Fowler said the XF had won the award at a crucial time for Jaguar “as the sale of the company draws closer”.
“Judging by the XF,” he said, “its future looks very good indeed.
“The XF has it all – it looks fantastic and has a classy, futuristic interior that gives it a real sense of occasion,” he said. “On top of that it’s great to drive, whatever mood you’re in, and is a sound ownership proposition, too. Considering the quality of opposition it beat to win our Best Executive Car Award, it was an obvious choice for the overall Award.”
Among a swag of category awards,
What Car? also gave a ‘Green Award’ to BMW and Mini. The award recognises the use of technology to reduce carbon dioxide emissions which, the magazines editors say, applies across the whole range of BMWs and Minis.
“Nobody has done more to reduce CO2 for buyers of all types of car,”
What Car? Editor, Steve Fowler said at the magazine’s awards night, at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel. “Whether you’re a supermini buyer or looking for a large 4x4, BMW and Mini offer some of the greenest cars on the market.”
What Car? Car of The Year winners 2008
Overall – Jaguar XF 2.7D V6 Luxury
Supermini – Vauxhall Corsa 1.4 Club air-con 5dr
Small Family Car – Volkswagen Golf 1.4 TSI 120 Match 5dr
Family Car – Ford Mondeo TDCI 140 Zetec 5dr
Estate Car – Ford Mondeo 2.0 TDCi Zetec
Compact 4x4 – Land Rover Freelander 2.2 TD4 GS
Large 4x4 – Land Rover Discovery 2.7 TDV6 SE auto
Hot Hatch – Mini Cooper S (pictured)
Coupe – Audi TT 2.0 T-FSI
Open-Top – Volkswagen Eos 2.0 T-FSI Sport
Performance Car – Audi R8
MPV – Citroen Grand C4 Picasso 1.6 HDi SX
Compact Executive – BMW 320d ES
Executive Car – Jaguar XF 2.7D V6 Luxury
Luxury Car – Mercedes-Benz S320 CDI
Green Award – BMW / MINI
Safety Award – Mercedes
Security Award – Audi
Stay tuned for more details of next week’s big Wheels COTY coverage on A Current Affair Monday and Tuesday from 630pm EST, and uploaded to Wheelsmag.com.au on Wednesday...