Video: Jay Leno takes the new Jaguar XF for a spin

The new Jaguar XF took top honours at the 31st annual motoring 'Oscars', the What Car? Car of the Year Awards 2008.

The Jaguar beat 14 category winners during a glittering ceremony held at the Grosvenor House Hotel on London's Park Lane.

What Car? editor, Steve Fowler, said: “It's a crucial time for Jaguar as the sale of the company draws closer. Judging by the XF, its future looks very good indeed.

Jaguar XF SV8

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“The XF has it all - it looks fantastic and has a classy, futuristic interior that gives it a real sense of occasion. 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."

Accepting the award Mike O'Driscoll, Managing Director of Jaguar Cars, said:

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

What Car?'s Green Award went to BMW and Mini for the first time. The award recognises the company's achievements in reducing carbon dioxide emissions across their new range of BMW and Mini cars.

“Nobody has done more to reduce CO2 for buyers of all types of car,” said Fowler. “Whether you're a supermini buyer or looking for a large 4x4, BMW and Mini offer some of the greenest cars on the market.”

British car makers did particularly well at this year’s awards. Land Rover again dominated the 4x4 categories with the new Freelander 2 named Best Compact 4x4 for the second year and the Discovery winning the Best Large 4x4 award for the fourth year running – while the Oxford-built Mini Cooper S won the Best Hot Hatch award for the second year in a row.

Audi came away with the most trophies, including Best Performance Car for the new R8 and Best Coupé for the TT. Ford's new Mondeo was named Best Family Car and Best Estate, while last year's Car of the Year, the Vauxhall Corsa, was again named Best Supermini.

What Car? Car of The Year winners 2008

Car of The Year -- 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

Coupé -- 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