Autocar Awards 2019 honour Mercedes, Renault, Aston Martin and more

The Kia e-Niro, What Car?'s Car of the Year for 2019, is among the new models to have been honoured at this year's Autocar Awards, alongside other 'game-changing' cars including the Suzuki Jimny, Ferrari 488 Pista, Mercedes-AMG CLS 53, Toyota Corolla and Hyundai Nexo.

The event, presented by What Car?'s sister title, was held at the iconic Silverstone race circuit. As ever, it was attended by some of the most prominent figures in the industry. 

Among the awards given out on the night were accolades for engineering and leadership, with Porsche engineer Andreas Preuninger receiving the former, and the latter shared between BMW CEO Graeme Grieve, Toyota managing director Paul Van der Burch and Prodrive chairman David Richards CBE. A special Lifetime Achievement award was given to Jaguar Land Rover chief engineer Mike Cross.

Autocar also honoured the cars to which it has awarded five-star road test verdicts in the past year, including the new BMW 3 Series, Aston Martin DBS Superleggera and McLaren Senna. Elsewhere, the Volkswagen Golf won the title of Used Car Hero, while the Reader's Champion award – decided by an online vote – went to the Lotus Elise.

Aston Martin boss Andy Palmer picked up the Editor's Award for introducing a raft of new models to the British marque and overseeing the development of the company's first SUV, the DBX.

The evening's two top awards – the Sturmey Award and the Issigonis Trophy – went to Renault designer Laurens van den Acker and Daimler boss Dieter Zetsche respectively. Autocar praised van den Acker's "innovative approach to design and forward-thinking concept cars", while Zetsche was honoured for his "years of contribution, ability to predict and embrace new trends and market segments, as well as his leadership of Mercedes and Daimler".

Every five-star car on What Car?

So those are the cars that Autocar has honoured at this year's Autocar Awards, but how many of them also get a five-star rating from What Car? as well? After all, it's not every day that we give out a five-star road test rating, because any car that achieves this is judged to be outstanding in almost every area.

In this next story, we'll take you through every car that has received a coveted five-star rating, explain the reasons why and even tell you how much we can save you through the What Car? New Car Buying service.

Next: Every five-star car on What Car? >

For all the latest reviews, advice and new car deals, sign up to the What Car? newsletter here

Buy a new car with What Car?

Before you buy, visit What Car?’s new car deals section.

We have discounted deals on most new cars on sale, so you're never far away from finding a new car deal in your area.

It's all based on Target Price, which is the price we think you should pay based on research by our team of mystery shoppers, and the best discounts they can achieve.

If you’re still not sure then our deals team can help; call them on 03302 216207 – lines are open from 8am until 10pm seven days a week.