The guest list read...

The guest list read like a Who’s Who of the motor industry as more than 200 top executives, designers and motorч­sport stars gathered for the 2006 Auto Express New Car Honours presentation.The glittering event, at London’s Hurlingham Club, celebrated our 15th honours night and brought together some of the best brains in the business.

And for good reason: the Auto Express New Car Honours have grown in prominence each year, and are now considered to be the top weekly motoring magazine awards night on the calendar.

This is because the industry heads know that our road testers and motorч­ing writers have not only driven thousands of miles and studied every new car on sale in the UK, but that we have also gauged the opinions of our readers as we come to our verdicts.

This year’s eagerly awaited night was hosted by former racing driver, TV presenter and Auto Express columnist Tiff Needell. He had company in the form of track stars such as ITV1’s F1 expert Mark Blundell and Brit Gary Paffett – the reigning DTM German touring car champ – plus current British Touring Car title holder Matt Neal and BTCC chief Alan Gow.

With 19 ‘best in class’ honours and four premier awards on offer – incluч­ding Auto Express Car of the Year – the stage was set for a stunning battle of the best cars on sale in the UK. It was a list that made impressive reading, and comprised our Driver Power customer satisfaction award – chosen earlier in 2006 by 46,000 Auto Express readч­ers. So who won what? Full results below.

*New Car Honours 2006