The Best Drives of 2006

	With its blend of high-speed corners, long bends and the tightest hairpin of any UK circuit, the Croft circuit is guaranteed to test the abilities of our finalists

Welcome to Greatest Drives 2006 – our annual test to find the year’s best driver’s cars. Our road test team has assembled the top 20 performance models (although only 19 made it for our main picture) for the ultimate shoot-out at the famous Croft circuit in North Yorkshire.

With its blend of high-speed corners, long bends and the tightest hairpin of any UK circuit, the Croft circuit is guaranteed to test the abilities of our finalists. Just as importantly, it’s located on the doorstep of the North Yorkshire Moors, which have some of the country’s best driving roads.

This is vital, because Greatest Drives is much more than just a track test. On-road performance is crucial, as is value for money and the ability to make the driver smile – the feelgood factor.

The rules haven’t changed, though. Last year’s winner, the VW Golf GTI, is invited back to defend its title, but all other contenders have to be new or updated in the past 12 months. Simply winning a place here is an achievement – plenty of worthy contenders, such as the Vauxhall Astra VXR and Subaru Impreza Spec D, missed our final 20.

The lap times were achieved by our own road testers, and as Croft is built on a WWII airfield, the flat, smooth runway next door was the ideal place to conduct our performance tests.

So don't wait any more, click on the link below for reviews, videos, audio clips and downloads of the year's best drives...