What Car? Car of the Year

Jaguar’s new XF has claimed top prize – the highly respected ‘Car of the Year’ award – at the 2008 What Car? awards in London. The XF also took top place in the ‘Best Executive Car’ category, ahead of the Mercedes CLS and the BMW 5 Series. What Car? commented that “it out-drives the previously unbeatable BMW 5 Series, which is saying something, but it is also more supple on poor surfaces”.

What the judges most admired about the XF is the way it is still very much a Jaguar, but altogether more modern: “You are, for example, virtually entombed in wood and leather, but this time it doesn’t make you feel time-locked in a bygone era.”

The judges also considered that the piece de resistance is the choreographed start-up procedure. A rotary gear selector and fresh-air vents emerge from their resting places, to the accompaniment of a pulsing red starter button and the glow of blue mood lighting on the instruments, in the doors and around the controls: “This really has the feeling of a concept car become production reality.”

With an eye on running costs the judges went for the 2.7-litre V6 diesel model. “It is not, we admit, the most potent or the most frugal and CO2-friendly engine of its ilk, so it makes the XF a little more costly than rivals to own, but it adds to the car’s supreme refinement”.

For us, the XF goes straight in there with the very best cars from Jaguar’s past. And given that the car market today is more competitive than it’s ever been, it’s fair to say the XF is the best car Jaguar has ever built.

The XF really does have it all – a sensational exterior and dramatic interior combined with a drive that will delight and pamper in equal measure. On top of that, it stacks up as a sensible buying and owning proposition, too.

Steve Fowler, group editor of What Car?

All of us at Jaguar are delighted that we’ve taken the top spot at these awards, and that What Car? has named the new XF Car of the Year. It’s especially gratifying as What Car? has such a great reputation for representing the British consumer. Jaguar is creating a new generation of cars that started with the XK, and now continues with the all-new XF – a four door, five passenger car that has the heart of a sports car and the looks of a grand tourer. Like the XK, XF is visually striking and thrilling to drive.

We’re very pleased with the reaction the car has received, and our customer order bank is growing fast. We’re grateful to What Car? for this wonderful award.

Mike O’Driscoll, Managing Director of Jaguar Cars

The Jaguar XF has already received a host of significant awards including ‘Car of the Year’ from The Sun newspaper, ‘Limo of the Year’ from Top Gear magazine, ‘Interior of the Year’ from CAR magazine and the ‘Design Award’ from Autocar magazine.

Available to order now, the XF made its public debut at the Frankfurt International Motor Show in September and the first customer deliveries begin in March.