The Jaguar XF Named Best Executive Car In The Auto Express Awards 2009

Jaguar's Design Director, Ian Callum, has won the inaugural 'Person of the Year' award at the Auto Express Awards 2009, while one of his most successful designs to date - the Jaguar XF - has been hailed 'Best Executive Car' for the second year running.

David Johns, Editor-in-Chief at Auto Express said: "You only have to look at the new XJ to understand why Ian Callum is the winner of our 'Person of the Year' award. For overseeing the reinvention of a much loved British brand and making Jaguars incredibly desirable and stylish once more, Ian Callum thoroughly deserves this award."

Ian Callum said: "It is a tremendous honour to receive this accolade. To be recognised for my work through the past few years at Jaguar is extremely satisfying. I set out ten years ago on a mission and it is wonderful to see that plan come together and deliver. Part of that mission was to surround myself with what I consider to be the best design team in the industry, so they should be equally proud of this recognition."

The Jaguar XF proved popular among Auto Express readers earlier this year when it was voted winner of the Driver Power 2009 Reliability and Satisfaction Survey.

David Johns commented: "With a pair of new diesel engine options and a scorching high-performance flagship, the Jaguar XF has gone from strength to strength in the past twelve months. So it should come as no surprise to find the car towering above its rivals at the top of the executive class for a second year running.

"What will raise some eyebrows is that Mercedes' latest E-Class has done little to unsettle the British-built Jag. The XF's closest competitor is the BMW 5 Series - but when it comes to pure owner satisfaction, the Jaguar is simply unbeatable."

The new Jaguar XF line-up now includes a new 3.0-litre diesel engine with a choice of power outputs, a new 5.0-litre naturally aspirated V8 petrol and the new 5.0-litre supercharged Jaguar XFR.

Jaguar recently unveiled the all-new Jaguar XJ which is available to order now with first customer deliveries in early 2010.