Comfort, opulence, presence, performance and the latest technology. These are just some of the things we want, no expect, a luxury car to deliver. It should be as good to drive as to be driven in. The luxury car market is changing, however. Once upon a time, a luxury car meant a four-door saloon with acres of space in the back and the most relaxing experience this side of a long weekend at a luxury spa. Today, a luxury car is just as likely to be an SUV, from a Range Rover Sport to a Rolls-Royce Cullinan. If you prefer riding high, check out Motoring Research’s guide to the Best Luxury SUVs. We have even included one suggestion here, among the ‘traditional’ luxury cars. At £85,000, the Audi A8 is one of the ‘cheapest’ cars on our list. Not that many A8s will leave a showroom at that price. Flagship models command a six-figure price tag, and that’s before you start perusing the options list. You don’t need to splash out on a pricier model, though. Even the entry-level A8 Sport features the kind of equipment and technology that will delight the most demanding of gadget freaks. Petrol and plug-in hybrid powertrains are available, along with a 571hp twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 in the sporty S8. Diesel options are still present on Audi’s price list, but who knows for how long… We said: ‘The Audi A8 is a deeply impressive machine. It fulfils demands for luxury, space and discreet performance, and now has a statesman-like appearance that at least makes it the equal of its rivals – or a viable alternative to the Bentley Flying Spur. Whether all this will be enough to entice more buyers into the A8 fold, however, remains to be seen.’Read our Audi A8 review Bentley Flying Spur Most luxury cars are best enjoyed from the sumptuous surroundings of the back seat. The advantage of the Bentley is that it’s just as great to drive. Whether you choose the Mulliner or the Flying Spur Speed, you may decide to give the chauffeur the weekend off. If you’re doing the driving, you’ll want the Speed, which is the fastest and most powerful four-door Bentley ever built. Thanks to a twin-turbocharged V8 with plug-in hybrid tech, it serves up 782hp and 737lb ft of torque. The 0-62mph sprint takes 3.5 seconds, with a top speed of 177mph. We said: ‘It’s voraciously fast and eagerly responsive, yet invariably smooth and unflustered – whether transitioning between power sources or swapping cogs within the eight-speed dual-clutch transmission. Unlike in some cars of this calibre, it’s also fun to change gear yourself using the paddles, revving out the V8 to enjoy its (authentic and unsynthesised) snarl.’ BMW 7 Series and i7 In the battle between the 7 Series and S-Class, the BMW has always been the luxury car of choice for keen drivers. It’s not as comfortable or opulent as the big Mercedes-Benz, but it handles corners like a smaller BMW saloon. It doesn’t come cheap, though, with prices of the most affordable 7 Series – the fully electric i7 – starting from £105,000. For that, you get a limousine that offers up to 387 miles of range if you choose the xDrive60 version, plus one of the most technology-rich interiors available in 2025. If the 14.9-inch curved front display isn’t enough, rear-seat passengers can be treated to an optional 31.3-inch theatre screen and a Sky Lounge panoramic sunroof. Oh, and both the i7 and regular 7 Series are available in armoured ‘Protection’ guise, if you’re somebody who has made a few enemies.The 7 Series is a more traditional alternative to the i7, albeit with a thoroughly modern plug-in hybrid powertrain. Even the ‘entry-level’ 750e xDrive will hit 62mph in just 4.8 seconds, while the M760e xDrive manages the sprint in 4.3 seconds. Amazingly, despite the car’s weight and luxury trimmings, the plug-in hybrid offers up to 55 miles of electric range. If you remember to recharge its battery, that is. Genesis Electrified G80 Genesis is the luxury division of Hyundai and it’s been doing a grand job of muscling in on the premium and luxury establishment in South Korea and the US. It’s taking a little longer to grow in the UK, but on the evidence of cars like the G80, Genesis deserves to succeed. It’s not the Korean brand’s largest luxury saloon – the G90 flagship isn’t available in the UK – but with Bentley-esque styling and a level of quality that’s more than a match for the Germans, the Genesis is worthy of your shortlist. The G80 was previously available with a 2.5-litre petrol engine, but is now electric-only. The headline numbers are 370hp, 0-62mph in 5.1 seconds and a fully charged range of 354 miles. We said: ‘As a line-in-the-sand car, the Genesis G80 is a good introduction to this new premium brand. It’s got a lot of work ahead, to draw people from their BMWs and Mercedes-Benz – and to cement itself as a successful alternative (Lexus), rather than a pointless failure (Infiniti).’ Mercedes-Benz S-Class Short of entering the lofty world of Bentley or Rolls-Royce, no other four-door saloon does luxury quite like the Mercedes-Benz S-Class. For generations, it has been accepted as the ‘best car in the world’ and a shop window for future technology. The current S-Class is no exception. It’s based on an all-new platform and boasts next-generation infotainment and driver assistance tech. Prices start from around £98,000, with only long-wheelbase versions available new in 2025. We said: ‘Whether you’re relaxing in the back or at the wheel, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class is one of the most comfortable cars on sale. Few vehicles offer such a delightful blend of quality, sophistication and dazzling technology.’ Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupe The days of AMG shoehorning V8 engines into every conceivable Mercedes-Benz product are, sadly, now behind us. But Affalterbach still has a handful of ways to deploy eight-cylinder firepower. The four-door coupe version of the AMG GT 63 S E Performance combines a hybrid motor with its 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8, resulting in a grand total of 843hp. That makes it one of the most powerful AMG cars ever made, yet it still offers a luxurious, leather-lined interior and vast amounts of technology. We said: ‘On paper, the results are quite something. This elongated ‘four-door coupe’ (to use M-B’s terminology) can blast to 62mph in 2.9 seconds and keep going to 196mph. On the road, the powertrain feels like the best of all worlds: effortless at low speeds, absurdly muscular in the mid-range and furiously intense as the revs rise.’ Porsche Panamera With a starting price of £89,500, the Porsche Panamera is one of the cheapest options on our list of the best luxury cars. But that’s just the beginning, because the flagship Turbo S E-Hybrid maxes out at around £175,000. Yes, the Panamera is a hatchback, but this is as luxurious as a Porsche can get – on par with the Cayenne SUV. Some versions are as quick as a 911 Turbo, while others offer enough electric range to tackle the daily commute. Reviewing the mid-range Panamera GTS, we called it ‘sports car in a saloon car suit’, adding that it ‘strikes a deft balance between luxury and performance’. We added ‘this isn’t a tyre-smoking hooligan’, praising its ‘refinement and sheer breadth of ability that make the Panamera easy to live with’. Porsche Taycan Can a car be sporty and luxurious? It can when it’s a Porsche Taycan. Whether you opt for the standard saloon or the more practical (and cooler?) Sport Turismo and Cross Turismo estate models, the Taycan looks great, is brilliant to drive and boasts a beautifully appointed interior. Choose a rear-wheel-drive Taycan with the now-standard 105kWh Performance Battery Plus and you can look forward to an official 421 miles of range between charges. Yet even the high-performance versions are knocking on the door of 350 miles. For maximum performance, the extreme Taycan Turbo GT delivers more than 1,100hp, and has set multiple lap records across the world. Of the entry-level Taycan, we said: ‘Zero to 62mph in 4.8 seconds is hot hatch territory in 2025, yet the 435hp Taycan definitely feels faster. Perhaps it’s the – literally – electric throttle response or the smooth way it gathers speed, but my impression was of proper Porsche performance.’ Read our reviews of the Porsche Taycan and Taycan Turbo GT Range Rover Given how the new car market continues to shift ever more towards SUVs, the iconic Range Rover is likely to be a genuine alternative to many of the long and luxurious saloons listed here. Pushed even further upmarket, the latest-generation Range Rover is one of the very best luxury SUVs around. Its interior design and quality is more than a match any rival, and it comes with the added ability to venture off-road – should you need to. We said: ‘How does it drive? Oh, like a Range Rover: impeccably. The serenity and sense of wellbeing is all-encompassing. It’s not uncannily silent, like an electric car, but the background hum of the super-smooth engine merely seems to enhance the experience. A bit like the vibration-free noise of a car in the movies, when they are driving on a green screen.’ Rolls-Royce Phantom The Rolls-Royce Phantom takes luxury to a higher plane – and we’re not just talking about the executive jet that will likely form one of the owner’s stable of transport options. As before, power is sourced from a 6.75-litre V12 engine, but the difference here is that the oomph is more likely to be enjoyed by the chauffeur. For those who prefer to enjoy driving their Rolls-Royce, the (marginally) smaller Ghost Series II Black Badge delivers tremendous power with greater involvement. We said: ‘Bury your right brogue in the deep-pile lambswool and the V12 wakes up with a muted snarl, thrusting this 2,685kg leviathan to 62mph in 5.5 seconds. The Phantom is more agile than you might expect, helped by rear-wheel steering that tightens its turning circle in town and aids stability at speed.’ Rolls-Royce Spectre We could have included the Rolls-Royce Ghost as our final luxury car, but with the Phantom taking care of four-door duties, why not slip into something more elegant? Besides, the Spectre is the company’s first electric car, so it represents a vision of the future.This isn’t your typical impractical coupe; it’s 432mm longer than a Range Rover with ample space for four people. Its 102kWh battery delivers 329 miles of a range, which is arguably the most underwhelming part of the car. In every other respect, the Spectre delivers a fabulous sense of occasion in near-silence. We said: ‘The Spectre offers the comfort and craftsmanship of a traditional Rolls-Royce, but with electric power. Unlike most coupes, the Spectre can accommodate four adults in comfort, even if you’re sitting behind somebody tall. From behind the wheel, there’s little to suggest this is an EV: just the familiar mix of hand-crafted veneers, tactical analogue controls and slick, BMW-derived infotainment.’ Tim Pitt writes for Motoring Research