The new BMW 3 Series has been named 'Car of the Year' at the 2006 motoring 'Oscars' - the What Car? Awards.
The car overcame tough competition from 14 other category winners celebrated at a ceremony in the Grosvenor House Hotel on London's Park Lane.
The award-winning BMW is the 320d ES, priced at £23,695. What Car? praised the BMW for its complete and overall package.
Editor, Steve Fowler, said, "No other new car is as great in so many ways as the BMW 3 Series. Whatever your priorities, it delivers".
Once-ridiculed Skoda received two awards - 'Best Small Family Car' for the Octavia 1.6 Ambiente and the 'Best Hot Hatch' for its sporty Octavia vRS - while Renault took the award for 'Best Supermini' with its new Clio.
For the first time What Car? has introduced a 'Green Award' to recognise the manufacturer or organisation that has done most to make travel by car more environmentally friendly. This inaugural award went to Toyota and Lexus for leading the way in the development of hybrid and clean diesel technologies.
Last year's overall 'Car of the Year', the Land Rover Discovery, triumphed once again in the 'Large 4x4' category. However, it was the only British-built model to receive a What Car? award in 2006.
Source: Reuters UK