The best sports and super saloons are still cars for all occasions, able to lunge across long distances with the best GTs and deliver near-sports and supercar thrills on the very best roads. In between, they are faithful family expresses, with decent boot space, four doors and Isofix.
German Giants Lead the Pack
Audi, BMW, and Mercedes have defined and dominated this arena in the past. They built their core lineups and reputations with a beloved bloodline of three-box machines but contenders and pretenders have always stepped up.
Despite the challenges facing traditional high-performance cars, the sports saloon and super saloon still have an immediate future thanks to electrification. This means that this list will likely look very different in 12 months’ time as hybrid and electric powertrains change the performance of these cars.
Top Contenders
The Mercedes-AMG E53 is one of the top contenders, with prices starting from £92,140. It looks like an AMG, goes like an AMG, and drives like an AMG, but doesn’t quite sound like one. The new powertrain delivers the numbers, with 577bhp and 553lb ft, but it’s not quite the emotional fulcrum like AMG motors of the past.
Another top contender is the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, with prices starting from £86,885. It’s awesomely fast, amazingly approachable, and full of charisma, but its interior is not a match for its rivals, and it has a reputation for flaky reliability.
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Electric and Hybrid Options
The Audi e-tron GT is a comfortable, satisfying, and impossibly fast electric GT, with prices starting from £89,555. It has inconsistent brake feel, but is a thoroughly impressive and oddly engaging device.
The BMW M5 is another top contender, with prices starting from £114,095. It’s a masterclass in disguising mass, deploying its 717bhp to devastating effect, and stops, goes, turns, and controls itself with the decorum of a car hundreds of kilos lighter.
Alternatives to the Mercedes-AMG E53 include the BMW M5, which offers more performance, although at a higher price. You can also consider a pre-registered RS7 from Audi dealers, should you want to ditch the batteries and motor and stick with a big petrol V8.
“Wound up into its most aggressive settings and the E53 will respond in kind to the levels of aggression you present it with. You can build a satisfying flow or throw it around, at which point it’ll start to dance with shades of the E63’s flamboyance still present, it just requires a little more digging to unleash it.” – Stuart Gallagher, evo editor-in-chief.
