Brit-built cars win top awards

The new Jaguar XF has won the coveted What Car magazine Car of the Year 2008 award, beating off stiff competition from rivals BMW and Mercedes.

What Car stipulate that the winner of the award "must have done more than anything else from the past 12 months to move things on".

Castle Bromwich-based Jaguar is a mere cottage industry alongside the mighty Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Yet its replacement for the retro styled S-Type was considered to have beaten the best the company's German rivals could offer.

This is even more of an achievement when set against the backdrop of uncertainty over Jaguar's future, with the sale of the company by owners Ford now imminent - most likely to Indian motor group Tata.

The magazine singled out in particular the way the XF out-drives the previously unbeatable BMW 5 Series, which is saying something, but also manages to be more supple on poor surfaces.

Accepting the award, Jaguar and Land Rover managing director Mike O'Driscoll said, 'This marks a very special day for Jaguar. We're back.'

Neither is What Car alone in praising the new Jag over its executive peers. In a three-way Auto Express group test against the Mercedes E280 CDI and BMW 525 M Sport, the 2.7 diesel version of the XF emerged triumphant.

Despite being the cheapest of the three, Auto Express described the car as "brilliant: superbly designed inside out, as well as fantastic to drive in all conditions and cost effective to buy and run. Jaguar should be immensely proud of its achievement."

"We're proud to say the XF is a British world-beater", the mag concluded.

But it's not just the Jaguar taking the honours. British-built stable-mate Land Rover won the top What Car award in the compact 4x4 category with its Freelander model, while the Discovery took the accolade for best large 4x4.

Al Kammerer, product development director Jaguar and Land Rover, pointed to strength in automotive manufacturing. 'The automotive industry in the West Midlands is alive and well,' he said.

In the hot hatch category, there was more success for British-built models with Oxford's MINI Cooper taking the title.

Size no obstacle to safety

The latest version of Land Rover's smallest 4x4 model, the Freelander 2, has been awarded the maximum five stars for adult passenger safety by independent car safety experts Euro NCAP.

It also achieved an impressive four marks for child protection.

Land Rover claims the recently-launched Freelander 2's success is down to its special inner 'safety cell', which is protected by crumple zones front and rear and ultra high-strength door beams.

Occupants also benefit from seatbelt pre-tensioners and seven airbags.

The Suzuki Grand Vitara, also recently tested by NCAP, fared similarly well. Suzuki's compact 4x4 achieved a four star score for adult safety.

The Vitara also performed exceptionally well at pedestrian protection. Its three star score means it leads even many superminis in the pedestrian safety it provides in the event of a collision.

The results are a major set-back for the claims of anti-4x4 campaigners that cars like the Freelander and Vitara are unsafe simply because of their bulky styling or, even more irrationally, because they are driven through four wheels rather than two.