TOP 5 SPORTS SALOONS
BMW M3/M4 COMPET|T|ON
THE GOOD: Mighty straight-six; front axle’s never-give-up attitude; dreamy chassis balance
THE BAD: No manual; nearly 911 money now
THE UGLY: M3 Touring £88k new but now changing hands for much less
THE ONE TO BUY: The CS, if you were lucky enough to bag one of the 100 brought here. Used Touring is a good secondhand buy
MERCEDES AMG S63
THE GOOD: V8 plus e-motor shows AMG can do a great performance hybrid, and in the most unlikely of places: a huge luxury saloon
THE BAD: Boot size suers, and ride quality isn’t perfect
THE UGLY: |t’s a pity this approach wasn’t applied to the new C63
THE ONE TO BUY: Two versions, both at £189k, one with more black trim
ALFA G|UL|A QUADR|FOGL|O
THE GOOD: Charisma in spades, fantastic agility and almost as good as an M3 to drive
THE BAD: Emphasis on almost as good as an M3 to drive
THE UGLY: Flaky interior quality; infotainment still lags behind the best
THE ONE TO BUY: There’s just the one, wonderful, model from £78,495/£699pcm
PORSCHE PANAMERA
THE GOOD: New version builds on success of the very fine model it replaces
THE BAD: Barely a saloon – four-up is okay, but forget five
THE UGLY: Estate version is no longer available, even though it was the best looker
THE ONE TO BUY: £79,500 gets the base model; Turbo E-Hybrid at £141k now tops the range
AUD| S8
THE GOOD: The thinking person’s super saloon. Broad-based luxe appeal that’s as good to be driven in as it is to drive
THE BAD: Still lacks the badge cachet of AMG and M
THE UGLY: The nerves at Audi HQ when Maserati announces the new Quattroporte
THE ONE TO BUY: £119k Vorsprung, with 21-inch wheels