To be a great luxury car, you need more than ample space and generous amounts of kit. You need class, comfort and poise – and with so many top-flight cars available, we struggled narrowing down this list to three. There’s more variety here than in any other category, and with very good reason – they need to appeal to businesses, drivers and most importantly, the VIP in the back – but we hope you'll agree with our worthy winner.
A winner for the third consecutive year, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class name is synonymous with luxurious, wafty, leather-clad comfort and relaxation. Whether you’re behind the wheel enjoying the silky smooth engines and impressive refinement, or luxuriating in the reclined rear seats with entertainment system and massage function, the S-Class oozes restrained luxury. It’s also packed with advanced safety and driver assistance technology that makes life on the road as safe as possible. It’s an added bonus that it’s so easy to drive. What’s most impressive is that, despite a new version coming soon, the S-Class remains our pick of the luxury cars on sale.
The Continental GT proves luxury cars aren’t all big saloons. Available in Coupe and Convertible forms, the Continental is a grand-tourer with imperious road presence, a thunderous W12 or V8 engine and serious performance to rival a supercar’s – all the while wrapped up in a sleek body with an exquisitely built interior draped in soft leather and expensive trim. Opulence is standard, and the car is available in pretty much any colour combination you can concoct. It feels special, but is still easy to drive and easy to use, but be prepared for some high running costs. But if you can afford one in the first place, you can probably afford to run it. That it can easily cost twice as much as the Mercedes counts against it slightly.
The Range Rover is something of a British luxury icon, combining an impressive range of talents into its imposing off-road body. Just because it’s hugely capable off-road (it’s one of the best), doesn’t mean you can’t turn up to a fine restaurant in the evening after a day in the rough stuff. The engine range is comprehensive – all of them are strong and refined – while the interior is full of soft leather and the latest tech Land Rover has to offer. It also has a huge interior with plenty of room to spread out in the back. It’s a high-end jack-of-all-trades, but doesn’t quite reach the laidback comfort and advanced tech levels offered by the S-Class.
