This isn’t something I do lightly – choosing a car that doesn’t necessarily give me the usual thrill of excitement for this year’s Car of the Year.  However, I didn’t think I could justify picking anything else, given the range of buyers that this model will appeal to.  Without further ado, the Car of the Year 2008 is none other than the new Ford Fiesta 2008.

The new Fiesta is a car for just about everyone.  Whether you want a budget model (under £9k) or a top of the ranger, there’ll be something to appeal.  You see, this super mini just about has everything that you could possibly want in a car.  Granted, it is small, but then that is surely a plus in today’s environmentally aware times?

Let’s talk about the looks first of all.  The new Ford Fiesta (08 on) is more than just a facelifted model.  This is a car that will shame most others on the road by looking extremely contemporary – yet without anything to mark it out as dated in a few years time.  The lines are clean and it looks purposeful when on the road.  It even looks fresher than the Fiat 500 and Renault Twingo.

Naturally for a car that will have such a wide buyer profile, there’s literally an engine to suit everyone.  If you want to go for something economical, then be my guest.  You’ll love the 78mpg you’ll get from the ECOnetic version, whilst those wanting more grunt could look to the 1.6 litre.  There are also diesel versions too and no doubt an ST version in the future.

Handling is great on the new Fiesta – the car is agile, the steering is precise and you’ll find it a real doddle to control.  If you’re in town then you might find the ‘stall control’ useful, whilst if you’re on the motorway then don’t worry – you don’t have the usual problem of a small car here – the Fiesta will do the miles no problem.

Safety of course should be high on everyone’s agenda, and it has been for Ford here.  The new model has a 5 star Euro NCAP rating, making it extremely safe indeed.  On top of that, an alarm, immobiliser and remote central locking come as standard, so you get some toys too.

So, lots of plus points there.  I don’t want you to go away feeling a little annoyed at the Car of the Year 2008 – I really want to sell this idea to you.  The Fiesta is a global model – for very good reason.  I’m absolutely convinced that once again, Ford have got the formula right.  Everything about this car (from it not being too small a super mini, up through to the wide engine choice) is fettled.

With the economy being the way it is, you’ll also love to note that insurance groups are cheaper than ever before for this car and engines are generally all-round more efficient.  Again, what’s not to like?  Perhaps to sum up this review best of all, we should consider what Clarkson showed on national TV – that was, of course, the fact that the new Ford Fiesta can give the run-around to a hugely powerful Corvette – when in a shopping centre.

Overall, the Ford Fiesta is a proper car for grownups, learner drivers, those wanting something cheap to insure, those wanting a cool ride, the old, the young – well, just about anyone really.  This is why the award for Car of the Year 2008 could not be given to anything else.  Economy, style, handling, dynamics and a price that won’t rip money out of your wallet like there’s no tomorrow.  Ford, we salute you.

Now we’re talking, the performance section of this year’s awards.  Granted, perhaps I should have stuck the boring eco-motors between the posh Jag and this astonishing car – but hey, it’s not a celebration of being a snotty Prius owner.  So, without further ado, let’s look at the Car Articles Performance Car of the Year 2008 – the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X.

The Mitsubishi Evolution has long been a well known performance car – pretty much in fact a rally car for the road.  More aggressive than the similarly specced Subaru Impreza WRX, the Evo however always looked like it had been designed (at least externally) by a pubescent teenager.

The Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X is a culmination of years of work and development.  This tenth iteration manages to keep all of the breathtaking performance of previous editions, but now brings some refinement to the mix. 

The Evo X continues the tradition of using a 2.0 litre turbocharged engine, available in a few different states of tune.  To be honest, they’ll all provide manic, terrifying performance that’ll tear to 60 in less than 5 seconds (whichever incarnation you spend your money on). 

It doesn’t matter the kind of road that you’ll be driving on, thanks to the huge number of electronics on board (such as the clever S-AWC system) you’ll rarely be out of control.  Perhaps more of a challenge will be in keeping your driving license clean; such is the insane acceleration and urgency of this car.

Naturally, as with most high performance cars, you’ll find that the turning circle can cause you some problems, but given how you can chuck the car around quite happily then you’ll learn to live with it.  Interestingly, the car will behave quite well in and around too, providing good space in the back (and the boot, though it’s a saloon not a hatch) and riding quite well.

Granted, the 24mpg might make you cry – but that’s unlikely if you actually have any verve for driving (it’s always a pay-off – performance vs fuel economy).  The reason of course is that this car just has bags and bags of performance that you can unleash with a fairly easy prod of the ‘fast’ pedal.  Sounds like your thing?  Well, whether you’re a track day legend or a ‘B’ road warrior, trust me, you’ll love this car.

It’s about time that we had at least one car category of the year, and so I’ve decided to unveil the Coupe of the Year.  In this case, I’ve chosen the Jaguar XK.  There have been a few good coupes out for this year, but none better for my taste than this really classy Jag.

The Jag makes a statement about what they company is all about, especially when you add the R to the end of the equation.  Perhaps, even better, is the XKR-S coupe – which is a superb blend of luxury, cruising refinement and supercar performance.  It’s also somewhat rare, at only 200 units being built.

Naturally, it’s to be expected that the car isn’t cheap – it’s around £80,000.  This is more than £10,000 than the standard XKR, but you’ll certainly notice the difference.  If you can afford that, perhaps you’ll be annoyed at the whole ‘you can have any colour, as long as it’s black’ (remind anyone of Ford?), but just look at the thing.  Beautiful.

The external look of the car is slightly beefier with more flair, to show that you’re in the absolute top of the range car.  Inside, you’ll love the piano-black wood that will surround you, whilst the seats remain as comfortable as you’d expect.

Performance remains the same as the XKR, with a 4.2 litre V8 supplying enough power to complete the 0-60 sprint in 5.2 seconds.  Top speed goes all the way up to 174mph, so you shouldn’t find it any kind of slouch on the road.

Perhaps the best thing about this Jag and the reason why I’ve given it Coupe of the Year 2008 is simply down to the power delivery.  If you’ve ever been in a Jag with any kind of power you’ll know what I mean when I say that it is completely effortless.  A true best of breed.