Ferrari takes home a haul of awards at this years Engine Of The YEar ceremony including the overall prize, again.

• The 3.9-litre twin-turbo takes two categories as well as the overall Engine of the Year Award
• The F12tdf’s 6.3-litre V12 takes its second consecutive Above 4-litre title

For the second year running, the 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8 that powers the 488 GTB, 488 Spider and with a slightly smaller displacement the California T and GTC4Lusso T, has taken the outright International Engine of the Year Award along with the Performance Engine class and the 3-litre to 4-litre displacement category.

Since its introduction in 1999, the International Engine of the Year Award has become one of the industry’s most coveted honours. As well as dominating the Award’s Above 4-litre and Performance Engine categories in the past six years, Ferrari has now taken a record number of wins for any high-performance sports car manufacturer.

This year also saw Ferrari’s naturally-aspirated 6.3-litre V12 engine, that powers the F12berlinetta and F12tdf, receive the Above 4-litre award for the second year consecutively, and for the third time after the distinction awarded in 2013. This result for the V12 is even more significant this year, as it is this power unit that hailed the start of the glorious Prancing Horse story 70 years ago in 1947.

A concentration of uncompromising engineering solutions, Ferrari’s return to twin-turbo technology for the V8 range has set a new benchmark for turbo-charged engines. Zero turbo lag and a progressive delivery of power and torque throughout the rev range maintain unprecedented levels of driver involvement.

According to Tony Robinson, founder of the International Engine of the Year Awards, “This is only the second time in the history of the IEOTYA that such a powerful performance engine has taken the overall honours two years consecutively  and won the most coveted, outright IEOTYA title. The Ferrari V8 is all about amazing power delivery, precision, driveability and a wonderful soundtrack, too.  One day soon it'll be a classic in its own right; indeed I think it is already!”

WHAT CAR AWARDS - And the overall Car Of The Year goes to the BMW 5-Series Saloon.

• All-new BMW 5 Series Saloon is named What Car? Car of the Year 2017.
• Judges praise the new BMW 5 Series for its interior design, driving capabilities and driver assistance technology.
• BMW 520d SE Saloon model takes home the award for Best Luxury Car.
• BMW i3 and BMW M140i recognised as 'best buys' in their respective categories.
• BMW 5 Series is available to order now, prices start from £36,025 OTR.

The all-new BMW 5 Series Saloon has been honoured with one of the motoring industry’s highest accolades: the What Car? Car of the Year Award for 2017. 

The newcomer took the top honour, along with the Best Luxury Car category award, at the magazine’s annual presentation event, staged on 11 January in London.

At the awards, Editorial Director at What Car?, Jim Holder, said: “It’s hard to recall another year with so many exceptional new models vying for our overall Car of the Year award, which makes the BMW 5 Series’ victory all the more impressive.”

“The 520d SE with optional variable dampers is the pick of the 5 Series range. But whichever version you choose, you’ll be getting one of the classiest and most comfortable cars on sale today,” said Holder.

The BMW 5 Series has also been awarded the title of Best Luxury Car with the judges praising its semi-autonomous drive capability, driving dynamics and high level of standard equipment.

Hildegard Wortmann, BMW Group’s Senior Vice President, BMW Brand, collected the award on the night and commented: “For the BMW 5 Series to win the prestigious ‘Car of the Year’ award is an honour and testament to the hard work that goes into producing one of BMW’s core models. 

The BMW 5 Series is a brand shaping saloon and in times of rapid change within the automotive industry we believe the seventh generation model points the way into the future. It is a truly outstanding car and I am very grateful to What Car? for this great recognition.”

With approximately 7.9 million BMW 5 Series cars sold across the globe thus far, the seventh generation BMW 5 Series continues the finest tradition of its forebears by offering an unsurpassed blend of driving dynamics, comfort and functionality. 

The latest BMW 5 Series Saloon uses the very latest technology from within BMW to create a saloon that’s more refined than ever before, significantly lighter, safer, and more fuel efficient. The new generation family of TwinPower Turbo engines provide impressive performance gains, but also show major advances in reducing fuel consumption and emissions. An extensive suite of driver assistance technologies including BMW Lane Keeping Assistant and Lane Change Assistant mean that not only does the new BMW 5 Series Saloon reduce the driver’s workload like never before, it also takes a notable step towards fully autonomous driving.

Other technologies include, Remote Control Parking – as seen first on the new BMW 7 Series – and the optional Parking Assistant and Parking Assistant Plus packages, which enable automated parking with the greatest of ease in both parallel parking spaces and perpendicular or angled spaces. Surround View and Remote 3D View offer peace of mind to anyone who frequently finds themselves manoeuvring in awkward traffic situations and the optional Display Key offers a host of other functions with Remote operation of the auxiliary ventilation being just one example.

As standard on the BMW 5 Series, the latest generation of the Professional Navigation system boasts a fast start-up, even faster route calculation and more realistic 3D graphics in cities. BMW is now the first carmaker to offer Microsoft Office 365 users a secure server connection for exchanging and editing emails, calendar entries and contact details thanks to the car’s built-in Microsoft Exchange function.

BMW 5 Series is available to order now, prices start from £36,025 OTR.

In addition to the outright accolades, two more BMW models received price point plaudits – in the '£20,000-£40,000’ category, the BMW i3 94Ah earned a win in the Electric Car category and in the Hot Hatch category the BMW M140i was rated as the pick of the bunch in the ‘more than £25,000’ bracket.

The BMW i3 94Ah replaced the previous 60Ah model and has a capacity of 33kWh thanks to the higher storage density of the lithium ion cells. With the range increased to a maximum of 195 miles according to the NEDC cycle the judges on the What Car? editorial team commended the BMW i3 94Ah for its premium feel, comfort and its sustainable production methods. As for the BMW M140i, the judges applauded the eight-speed automatic gearbox for “contributing to the car’s remarkable dual personality”.

Renault has achieved its best ever performance in the Auto Express Driver Power awards

• Renault ZOE awarded Silver overall in Auto Express Driver Power awards
• Renault Kadjar awarded Bronze overall in Auto Express Driver Power awards
• All-electric ZOE wins Supermini category outright
• Clio takes Bronze in Supermini category
• Kadjar crossover voted number one in Off-road / SUV category 
• Scénic and Grand Scénic win the MPV category

Renault has achieved its best ever performance in the Auto Express Driver Power awards, announced today, with the Renault ZOE finishing in second and the All-New Renault Kadjar finishing in third overall. The all-electric ZOE, Kadjar crossover and Scénic/Grand Scénic also won the Supermini, Off-road/SUV and MPV categories respectively.

The plaudits continued for the French car manufacturer with the Clio awarded third place in the Supermini sector. The ZOE took third place for best running costs overall and was also second in the easiest to drive category. The stylish Kadjar added to its award haul with third place for ride quality overall.

The impressive results represent a major improvement for Renault vehicles in the annual awards that are determined purely by the feedback of owners and which ask them to rate their car across 10 judging categories. Nearly 50,000 owners took part in this year’s Auto Express Driver Power survey with 32 makes and 183 models ranked in what is one of the UK’s largest automotive customer satisfaction studies.

On the 100 per cent electric ZOE and family-sized Kadjar crossover finishing so highly in the annual survey, Brian Walters, Director, Research and Insights at Driver Power, said: “With the Renault ZOE the best performing supermini in terms of Running Costs; Performance; Ride Quality; Ease of Driving and In-Car Technology, it proves that superminis can excel in many judging categories long thought to be the domain of premium marques.

“Renault Kadjar has made an excellent debut in the awards. In addition to winning the Bronze Car of the Year Award and the Off Road / SUV category outright, it was also best performing SUV in Road Handling and In-Car Tech and among the top five SUVs in Running Costs, Ride Quality and Seat Comfort.”

Mark Crockett, Director of Total Customer Experience (TCE), Groupe Renault UK and Ireland, said: “This outstanding result demonstrates the progression of our vehicles and reaffirms our commitment to quality. We are delighted to have the ZOE and Kadjar in the top three overall placings and it’s especially pleasing that we have achieved such impressive rankings across the categories while also selling a record number of vehicles in the UK.

“We strive to provide customers with a class-leading product and ownership experience and this strong showing is a fantastic indicator that we are on track to achieve our GO5+ mid-term plan of a top 10 ranking in the Auto Express Driver Power survey and a top 10 global opinion rank for the brand.”

ZOE’s excellent result builds on its impressive performance in the 2015 Auto Express Driver Power Survey where it was ranked fifth overall and the number two supermini. In the 2016 survey, it has improved in seven of the ten Driver Power judging categories.

Representing the thoughts of Renault ZOE drivers who responded to the survey, one owner said: “It is cheap to run, comfortable, quiet and very nippy. Quality of build is excellent and the car has a full range of accessories. It is a joy to drive.”

Commenting on the Kadjar in their response to the Auto Express Driver Power survey, one satisfied owner, said: “I absolutely love it – it’s an absolute pleasure to drive. Being disabled, I had lost my independence and freedom, with this car, I have got it all back - and some!”

Since it arrived in the UK in September 2015, the Kadjar has strengthened Renault’s presence in the crossover market – building on the success of its compact crossover sibling, Captur. Its combination of striking design, efficient powertrains, spacious interior, high levels of standard specification, best-in-class residual values and five-star Euro NCAP rating have proved a hit with British car buyers.

USA - Honda cleans up at this years Kelley Blue Book Awards with Overall Winner and four other class wins.

• All-new, redesigned sporty and fun-to-drive 2016 Civic Wins Top Award
• Honda takes home bevy of 'Best Buy' honors for 2016 including CR-V, Pilot and Odyssey, showcasing strength in light-truck offerings
• Honda takes five of 11 non-luxury awards from Kelley Blue Book

Honda vehicles took home top accolades in multiple categories at the 2016 Kelley Blue Book Best Buy Awards, with the all-new, sporty and aggressively styled 2016 Civic taking home the 'Overall Best Buy Award.' 

According to the expert team of editors and evaluators at KBB.com, 'the 2016 Honda Civic is the Overall Winner in our Best Buy Awards because it sets a new standard in a segment already known for delivering great value, providing an up-level experience to drivers and passengers in every facet of the driving and ownership experience.'

2016 Kelley Blue Book Best Buy Award Winners: Honda

Overall Winner: 2016 Honda Civic

Small Car: 2016 Honda Civic

Small SUV/Crossover: 2016 Honda CR-V

Mid-Size SUV/Crossover: 2016 Honda Pilot

Minivan: 2016 Honda Odyssey

In addition to the Overall Best Buy of the Year Award for Civic, Honda secured accolades from The Trusted Resource® for three vehicles in its light truck lineup including CR-V, Pilot and Odyssey in their respective categories.

The Honda CR-V is the best-selling SUV over the past two decades and continues to offer incredible value to customers. The sleek and sophisticated 2016 Pilot is all-new and fully redesigned from the ground up with more trim levels, features and options than ever before. 

The 2016 Odyssey continues to be the only minivan to offer an in-vehicle vacuum and class-leading fuel economy.

"We are incredibly confident in the value, quality and design of the all-new 2016 Civic," said Jeff Conrad, senior vice president and general manager of the Honda Division. 

"This prestigious award from KBB.com helps current and future buyers with their purchase decisions and further solidifies the notion that for customers who purchase a Honda, be it a car or a light truck, they are making an 'overall' smart choice."

"We believe the all-new Honda Civic is a game-changer in the compact vehicle class" said Jack R. Nerad, executive editorial director and executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book's KBB.com. 

"While the previous-edition Civic was a market leader in a very important segment, the newest version ups the ante in every category – interior and exterior style, safety, feature set – the new Civic takes them all to a new level."

DRIVER POWER - Lexus shows the rest how its done, with six, yes SIX great results.

Best manufacturer and best car among six category awards

Lexus dominates the Auto Express Driver Power 2015 survey, receiving six awards including those for best manufacturer and – for the IS saloon – best car.

The IS also takes top spot in the category for best compact executive car with a 93.96 per cent satisfaction rating and is the highest-rated model for ease of driving. Its success reflects the growing popularity and appreciation of Lexus hybrid power as a smooth, refined, efficient and reliable technology.

The new Lexus NX compact SUV also makes an immediate impact, being named best car for build quality within its first six months on the road in the UK.

Lexus’s achievements extend all the way to making the most comfortable seats (in the RX).

Steve Fowler, Auto Express Editor-in-Chief, said: ““This is superb news for Lexus, winning a hat-full of Driver Power 2015 Awards.

“The new IS in first position is clearly much loved by its owners, while the new NX also features highly in our survey after just a few months on sale. In fact, even some of the older Lexus models are highly ranked, showing the enduring quality of the cars and the attention to detail of the dealers. Lexus is setting the standards other car makers need to aim for.”

Richard Balshaw, Lexus Director, said: “Auto Express’s Driver Power survey has impressive reach and relevance, making these awards all the more valuable.

“The opinions of Britain’s motorists are the best advocacy we could hope for as we increase our model range, bringing exciting new designs and more advanced technologies to the luxury car market.  

Furthermore, we remain committed to our original concept of delivering the best customer service, something everyone in Lexus has worked for since our brand was launched here 25 years ago.”

The full list of awards: –

Best Manufacturer

Best Car – third generation (current) Lexus IS

Best Compact Executive Car – third generation (current) Lexus IS

Best for Ease of Driving – third generation (current) Lexus IS

Best for Seat Comfort – second generation Lexus RX

Best for Build Quality – Lexus NX

That is not the end of the story: there are two further Auto Express Driver Power awards for Lexus that remain under wraps until an announcement later this year.

The results are drawn from the experience of motorists themselves – readers of Auto Express magazine and its website. This year’s survey attracted a record 61,113 responses, confirming it as the UK’s largest in-depth car satisfaction survey.

Kelly Blue Book names the Ford F-150 as Overall Best Buy and Truck Best Buy 2015.

• Kelley Blue Book’s KBB.com, The Trusted Resource^®for car buyers, named the all-new 2015 Ford F-150 Overall Best Buy and Truck Best Buy in its inaugural Best Buy awards
• All-new Ford F-150 – the toughest, smartest, most capable F-150 ever – beat out all other manufacturers’ 2015 trucks now on sale
•  F-150 can tow up to 1,100 more pounds and haul up to 530 more pounds; 2015 model’s fuel economy ratings projected to be at least 5 percent and up to 20 percent higher than current lineup (EPA-estimated fuel economy ratings will be announced later this month)

The all-new 2015 Ford F-150 is the big winner of Kelley Blue Book’s KBB.com Best Buy awards – earning both Overall Best Buy and Truck Best Buy prizes.  

Kelley Blue Book’s Best Buy awards is an all-new, premier awards program designed to provide a significant service to American new-car buyers by identifying the cream of the crop of all available vehicles for a specific model year. 

“These awards from Kelley Blue Book reflect our continuing commitment to truck leadership and building the best trucks for our customers,” said Joe Hinrichs, Ford president, The Americas. “The all-new F-150 sets new standards in durability, capability, technology and efficiency, and I’m proud our new truck has been recognized by the automotive experts at KBB.”

The all-new Ford F-150 is the toughest, smartest, most capable F-150 ever. F-150 can tow up to 1,100 more pounds and haul up to 530 more pounds, and will have fuel economy projected to be at least 5 percent and up to 20 percent higher than the current lineup. (EPA-estimated fuel economy ratings will be announced later this month.)  

“The 2015 Ford F-150 is a revolutionary vehicle in a segment in which even evolutionary change is viewed with skepticism,” said Jack R. Nerad, executive editor, Kelley Blue Book. “

The bold decision to lighten the vehicle’s structure radically was not just of value in itself, but also was the key enabler to an innovative line of powertrains that will result in significantly better capability than the prior F-150. What so impressed us at Kelley Blue Book was the fact that the new technologies incorporated into the 2015 F-150 all offer obvious and substantial consumer benefits. We believe that is the key reason the new F-150 will cement its place as the No. 1 vehicle in its segment.”

Honda celebrates winning twice at the Green Apple awards.

The Honda Civic was awarded two Green Apple accolades at the Green Organisation awards 2014, with the Civic claiming Gold in the smaller family car section and the overall Green Apple champion runner up for 2014.

Now in its fourth year, the annual awards are held at the House of Commons with the winners of the automotive Green Apple awards selected by the 28 members of the Midland Group of Motoring Writers.

Having won the prestigious gold award in the smaller family car section, being described as ‘a superb all-rounder’, the 1.6 diesel Honda Civic won the honourable silver place as the overall champion for 2014 and was praised as a car that continues to surprise drivers with its real world fuel economy, using less fuel than hybrids, while still providing enough performance to keep most drivers happy.

The 1.6-litre i-DTEC diesel engine was the first engine from Honda’s Earth Dreams Technology series to be launched in Europe and is exclusively built at Honda’s manufacturing facility in Swindon.

The engine made its introduction in the Civic and offers a class-leading combination of power (120 PS) and torque (300 Nm @ 2000 rpm) with CO₂ emissions of just 94 g/km, giving an impressive balance between fuel economy and performance.

Rather than develop a specific, eco-focused derivative, the 1.6-litre i-DTEC is an extension of the existing Civic line-up, ensuring the variant doesn’t sacrifice any of the driving dynamics associated with the Honda badge.

Phillip Crossman, Managing Director at Honda UK, said: “Being recognised by both the Midland Group of Motoring Writers and the Green Organisation as a class leader, not just in one category but overall, is a fantastic badge of honour for the Honda Civic and we are delighted to have come away with two awards.”

MG rated third best brand in annual Driver Power survey, yeah right, better than Lexus, Mercedes and more...... mmmmm....

• British motorists have voted MG third best manufacturer in UK
• Awards voted for by 50,000 car owners  and readers of Auto Express; the UK’s biggest selling weekly automotive magazine
• MG6 also wins Auto Express 2014 Driver Power award for Best Handling
• SMMT figures show MG is fastest growing brand in UK in 2014
• MG6 range from just £15,455 to £21,195 and PCP from only £199 a month
• MG3 range from £8,399 to just £9,999 or PCP offers from just £99 a month or zero deposit

MG adds another podium position to its 90^th year celebrations after being voted the third best manufacturer in the UK in the highly influential 2014 Auto Express Driver Power Survey.  

This tops off a superb return to Driver Power for MG, which also saw the MG6 take sixth place in the model rundown as well as being crowned best-handling car. British brands took second and third place with MG finishing just behind Jaguar, with scores of 89.34 per cent and 88.98 per cent respectively. 

Steve Fowler, Editor-in-Chief of Auto Express, said: “While some brands have exceeded expectations and scored highly for particular categories, MG has scored well across the board. It took second place in the handling section and third place for both ride quality and seat comfort. It’s great to see British brands doing well.”

Guy Jones, Sales and Marketing Director of MG Motor UK said “MG has made a significant investment in British design, engineering and assembly and we are delighted to see that this has resulted in UK customers loving our new range of cars. The goal of the British team based in Birmingham is to continue to deliver the MG brand values and create affordable British cars with character making them great value and fun to drive, buy and own.  With these awards and SMMT figures showing that MG is the fastest growing brand in the UK this year, we are clearly succeeding”

He continued: The launch of our new supermini MG3 has increased brand awareness and enabled us to significantly expand our UK dealer network attracting thousands of new customers into the brand. The appeal of the MG6 has also been significantly increased with the addition of the superb new high-tech, performance diesel with only 129g CO₂ resulting in zero road tax in the first year. Both cars have extremely low insurance groups from just 4E for MG3 and 13E for MG6 meaning you can have a car that is fun to drive at a low cost to insure, which is especially important for younger drivers”. 

This year MG celebrates its 90th anniversary with the business in better shape than it has ever been.  In the UK, MG is not only winning awards for its cars but it is also winning on the track, with the MG6 GT jointly leading the fiercely competitive British Touring Car Championship.  Globally MG is expanding in over 40 markets with major investment in new models from parent company SAIC. To celebrate this milestone year, MG is inviting both new and old fans of the brand to see past present and future MGs at the MG 90 event on 21^st and 22^nd June at the world famous Silverstone race circuit.

Driver Power is the annual reader survey of Britain’s top-selling weekly car magazine, Auto Express. Now in its 13th year, the survey questions motorists on all aspects of the ownership experience, including reliability, running costs and comfort. The results will be published in the 30 April issue of Auto Express, while autoexpress.co.uk will be providing analysis of the data.

Top 30 Manufacturers for 2014

1. Skoda
2. Jaguar
3. MG
4. Lexus
5. Dacia
6. Porsche
7. Kia
8. Mazda
9. Mercedes
10. BMW
11. Volvo
12. Audi
13. Honda
14. Peugeot
15. Renault
16. Subaru
17. Toyota
18. Hyundai
19. Volkswagen
20. Land Rover
21. Alfa Romeo
22. Nissan
23. Mitsubishi
24. Seat
25. Ford
26. Citroen
27. Fiat
28. Jeep
29. Vauxhall
30. Mini

About MG Motor

Since the first MG went on sale 90 years ago in 1924, the iconic British brand has become world famous for making stylish cars that are fun to drive and own, at remarkably affordable prices. The latest offering, the MG3 is no exception; the new, small modern MG brings style and fun to a new generation - giving a fresh twist on the innovation, sporty performance and statement style that first made the MG badge famous.

Modern MGs are designed, engineered and undergo final assembly at MG’s historic home in Longbridge, Birmingham. 

Today, MG is owned by the SAIC Motor Corporation. SAIC Motor is currently rated 103^rd in the Fortune 500 and, in 2013, achieved record global sales of over 5.1 million units, an increase of 13.71% on 2012 sales. SAIC Motor is the first Chinese automotive manufacturer to exceed five million units in a year, and 230,000 units of this extraordinary figure can be attributed to sales of the MG and Roewe marques worldwide.