Car of the Year 2008 - Introduction

On the cold and windy evening of January 17, the great and the good of the motor industry dolled themselves up and turned out at what's become known as the 'Motoring Oscars' - the What Car? Car of the Year Awards.

So why do so many of them come along to London's Grosvenor House hotel each year for our awards ceremony?

Simple: they're the awards that matter most to them, and the awards that'll help guide anyone who's about to buy a new car, or anyone who just loves dreaming about cars.

Every single one of today's 3985 new cars is eligible for our awards. We've whittled them down to three best buys at different price points in each category, with one of those cars taking the overall class honours.

Then from the category winners comes our champion - the best of the best, What Car?'s Car of the Year for 2008.

Rest assured, the cars you'll see over the following pages are the very best new cars for your cash.