AUTO EXPRESS AWARDS - Jaguar takes the Compact Executive Car of the Year for the XE Sports Saloon.

• The game-changing Jaguar XE has been crowned Auto Express Compact Executive Car of the Year for the second year running
• It’s the 47^th major global award for the XE, which has repeatedly triumphed over its established German rivals in the segment
• In a hat-trick of wins for Jaguar, the F-PACE won the biggest award of the evening, as it was named Auto Express’ Car of the Year 2016 as well as Compact SUV of the Year
• The XE, the most advanced, efficient and refined sports saloon that Jaguar has ever produced is priced from £26,990, available to specify at www.jaguar.co.uk   

The Jaguar XE has picked up its 47^th major global award, winning the prestigious Auto Express Compact Executive Car of the Year title for the second year running.  The XE continues to disrupt the premium compact executive sector in a way that no other recent model has managed. 

In fact, before the XE’s arrival, the last time a non-German manufacturer won Auto Express’ Compact Executive title was more than a decade ago.

Jeremy Hicks, Jaguar Land Rover UK MD, said: “To win the Compact Executive Car of the Year for a second year in a row just proves what a special car the XE is. Since it last won, we’ve seen brand new rival models from our competitors, but the XE’s mix of desirable styling, incredibly low running costs and engaging handling has ensured it has come out on top again. It’s really disrupted the premium executive class, not only for awards wins but also for sales both in the UK and across the world.”

Using Jaguar’s advanced Lightweight Aluminium Architecture, and high-tech Ingenium engines, the XE is the most efficient non-hybrid car in its class with fuel economy of up to 75mpg and CO₂ emissions as low as 99g/km. As well as its business-friendly emissions the XE also boasts the highest three-year/60,000-mile residual value* in the segment.

As a result XE has contributed to the doubling of Jaguar’s share of the corporate market since its introduction, and disrupted the premium executive market in a way that no other competitor has managed. Earlier this year it picked up the Game Changer award from Britain’s oldest motoring magazine, Autocar, for setting new standards and defying conventions by turning the established order on its head.

Steve Fowler, Editor-in-Chief of Auto Express, said: “There’s no doubting the Compact Executive award is one of the most hotly contested, but the Jaguar XE just stacks up every possible way you look at it. It’s stylish and luxurious, but it’s also a joy to drive and makes a great deal of sense to fleet buyers, too. The XE disrupted a run of more than a decade of continuous German wins in this category, and it’s going to take something very special to topple it.”  

As well as winning the Compact Executive Car of the Year award, Jaguar also won the biggest award of the night, with F-PACE being named as the Auto Express Car of the Year 2016, as well as the Compact SUV of the Year.

Ian Callum, Jaguar Design Director, and the man who styled both the XE and F-PACE, said: “What an incredible evening for us; we’ve got two cars competing in the most highly sought-after categories and not only have we won them both, but F-PACE is Car of the Year, too. As ever, I’m amazed by, and proud of, what the Jaguar team is capable of.”

*KeeResources March 2015

• The Jaguar XE is built at Jaguar Land Rover’s Solihull Advanced Manufacturing Plant, alongside the Land Rover Discovery, Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and Jaguar F-PACE
• The Solihull Advanced Manufacturing Plant was recently transformed into one of the most advanced car manufacturing facilities in the world, thanks to a £1.5bn investment – it can build an XE every 78 seconds
• The XE, the most advanced, efficient and refined sports saloon that Jaguar has ever produced is priced from £26,990, available to specify at www.jaguar.co.uk   

WHAT CAR AWARDS - And the main award, The Car Of The Year goes to the..........

Latest Audi compact executive not only tops the billing in its category along with the new TT Coupé but is also voted overall Car of the Year

• Audi A4 Saloon is named What Car? Car of the Year 2016
• 3.0 TDI 218PS model also takes home the award for best compact executive car
• ‘Best Buy’ awards in the ‘£25,000 - £35,000’ and the ‘More than £35,000’ categories also go to the Audi A4 Saloon
• Win for TT Coupé takes total number of What Car? Coupé category awards across the generations to eight
• Multitude of Best Buy class wins also achieved by a broad cross section of the Audi range

The compact executive saloon which has played a pivotal role in the success story of Audi across five generations has been richly rewarded with one of the automotive industry’s most highly prized awards: the all-new Audi A4 Saloon is What Car? Magazine’s Car of the Year for 2016. 

The compelling newcomer took the top honour, along with the Best Compact Executive Car category award, at the magazine’s annual presentation event, staged last night in London. The latest TT also notched up its second award in the Coupé category, and in the process took the total number of category trophies bestowed by What Car? on the three generations of the much loved Audi sports car to eight.

In the What Car? awards issue the magazine’s road test team praises the advances made by the all-new mid-size saloon, and singles out the mid-range 218PS V6 TDI model with its six-cylinder sophistication and remarkable frugality as the version which secures the top honour.

In its awards citations for the A4 the road test team points to the new ground that has been broken by the latest A4 as a key contributor to its win, writing: “Audi deserves congratulations for the new A4. It brings new standards of refinement, interior quality and technology to the compact executive class.”

Manners like an A8

The team goes on to applaud the benefits the new A4 reaps from a multitude of cutting edge aerodynamic, aeroacoustic and operating efficiency measures which are brought into especially sharp relief in the V6 versions: “With fuel economy and CO₂ emissions barely any worse than those of smaller-engined models, the A4 3.0 TDI 218 is the most impressive car we’ve tried of late. 

It’s only fractionally less efficient than the 2.0 TDI 190 model (officially and in the real world), and delivers the sort of creamy performance and whisper-quiet driving manners that would shame some luxury limos. Put simply, it feels more like a baby A8 than a 3 Series rival.”

The impressive showing for Audi, which began with a total of 14 category nominations, also includes an award that has become something of a tradition – the Coupé class accolade for the latest TT. 

This is the newcomer’s second from What Car?, but collectively the three generations of the acclaimed sports car have been honoured by the magazine a total of eight times, underscoring the enduring appeal of this Vorsprung durch Technik brand hallmark.

The What Car? team succinctly pinpointed the reasons for the TT’s evergreen appeal by writing: “Yes, there are plenty of other sleek-looking offerings in this class, but all of them demand some form of compromise from you – either in the way they drive, how easy they are to live with or how much they’ll cost you to buy and run. In contrast, the TT is not just the best coupé on the market, it’s one of the best cars you can buy, full stop.”

Commenting on this important recognition for the scope of the advances made by the all-new A4, Director of Audi UK Andre Konsbruck said: “ 

The compact executive class is arguably still the hub of the market in terms of the sheer pace and scale of progress, so for the A4 to be ranked most highly in this environment is gratifying enough in itself; for it then to be elevated above every other car the What Car? team tested last year is a truly momentous achievement of which we are all extremely proud.”

He went on to acknowledge the What Car? editorial team’s unerring support of the TT: “For a title such as What Car? that is so inherently trusted and respected in its judgement to be so firmly and consistently behind one of our cornerstone models is an incredible endorsement that is highly valued by Audi UK,” he said. 

“The TT has won an outright category or price point award, and mainly the former, for the past ten years and that’s a run of success to which only a very select few models can lay claim.”