Gaydon, Warwickshire, 18 January 2008 – Land Rover again beat tough competition to win the Best Compact 4x4 and the Best Large 4x4 categories at the 2008 What Car? Car of the Year Awards ceremony in London last night.

The all-new Land Rover Freelander 2 TD4 2.2-litre GS fought off opposition for the second year running from (the new Honda CR-V, VW Tiguan, Toyota RAV4 and Nissan X-Trail) in what is one of the most hotly contested sectors to win Best Compact 4x4, while the Discovery 3 TDV6 SE auto beat its rivals yet again to be named Best Large 4x4 for an impressive fourth year running.  They were also both awarded 'best buys' in their representative price categories of over £20,000 for Freelander 2 and £30-40,000 for Discovery 3, as did the Range Rover TDV8 Vogue at over £40,000.

What Car? group editor, Steve Fowler, said: "In spite of tough competition over the past year from a whole host of new models, Land Rover continues to clean up in the 4x4 sector. 

The Freelander 2 remains our pick of compact 4x4s – it's a true off-roader, but is comfortable and civilised for every day use.  As for the Discovery 3, our overall Car of the Year in 2005, it remains the best large 4x4 by some margin – testimony to the cleverness of the design and engineering of the car."

Land Rover's managing director, Phil Popham, said: "We are absolutely delighted to win these prestigious awards yet again from What Car?. These accolades are recognition of the continued relevance of our vehicles and their class-leading versatility."

Land Rover's sales in the UK exceeded 50,000 units last year for the first time in its sixty year history.

The Freelander 2's first full year of production in the UK saw sales of just under 19,000, the Discovery 3 continues to sell well with nearly 40,000 sold in the UK since launch back in 2004, and the introduction of the more efficient turbo diesel V8 in Range Rover Sport and Range Rover helped to keep the brand at the forefront of the luxury SUV segment.

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