Winner: Jaguar XJ Contrary to popular belief, German brands don't always have a monopoly on prestige and luxury. And the XJ proves it. While BMW took top honours in both the compact exec and executive categories, our judges couldn't look beyond Coventry's finest in the large car sector.

Winner: Honda Accord Tourer After knocking the Volvo V70 off its perch last year, the Honda Accord Tourer was always going to be hard to shift - and so it proved. Our judges continue to love its combination of looks, space, performance and price. So, it takes the prize for the second year running.

Winner: BMW 3-Series In a sector where style is so important, having the latest design is vital - and as one of the newest kids on the block, BMW's 3-Series has something of an unfair advantage. It is the compact executive to been seen in at the moment, and for the second year running our judges have awarded it the top honour.

Winner: Ford Mondeo James Bond's smart when it comes to card games, but he clearly doesn't know the first thing about depreciation! The nation's favourite spy gave the all-new Ford Mondeo its world debut in the recent Casino Royale blockbuster. Yet if you want to avoid the dreaded D-word, the smart money is on a used example of the current model.

Winner: Volkswagen Golf GTI Call it destiny if you like, but the car that started the whole hot hatch craze has now finally turned full circle. The original 1976 Volkswagen Golf GTI MkI has passed into folklore for introducing the concept of a high-performance family model, but later versions failed to live up to the legend - until the MkV arrived in a blaze of retro-inspired publicity back in 2004.

For a car that's used to winning awards, it has taken the Focus a while to triumph in the Used Car Honours. Honda's Civic has made this sector its own with four straight wins, but it was toppled by the big-selling Ford this year.

The Jazz continues to hit all the right notes in the supermini category. It has now won four consecutive titles in this sector, and our judges couldn't look beyond last year's overall winner because the model simply gets better with age.

Back then, our judges loved its looks, road manners and practicality - and these are still strong attractions. The Panda is also cracking value, and isn't plagued by the reliability issues which have afflicted some older stablemates.

So here it is - our overall champion of 2007... the Number One car in the UK. The new Mondeo is the most crucial model for some time from Britain's biggest car maker. And we are delighted to report it proves conclusively that the family car's obituary, written with the rise of the compact executive sector, is premature.

The shortlist for the Auto Express Special Honour is always the most varied of the year. It's designed to recognise any special achievement by a car, innovation, manufacturer or development. Previous years have seen the Honda ADAS driver-assist system, Toyota Prius and Bentley clinch the silverware.