It's still classy but some rivals are even classier. (used)

You'll be surprised that not everyone will find the BMW 5-series entertaining and the Mercedes E-class a bit too boring for their taste. What else could one consider? Well the Audi A6 certainly has the looks and the charm, but is that enough of a reason to buy one?

The standard 2-liter turbo four-cylinder offers decent flexibility around town and on the highway. It never feels short on pull thanks to loads of torque at low revs. You can option for a 3-liter supercharged six-cylinder that has all-wheel-drive fitted standard. Pick of the range goes to the 2-liter turbo with all-wheel-drive. Audi is known for it's Quattro all-wheel-drive system so it only makes sense to option for one with it, and of course that 2-liter turbo does such a good job that the 3-liter supercharged six-cylinder seems a tad bit pointless in our books. However, if you are willing to pay the premium for it then by all means go ahead because it is such a lovely engine.

The A6 doesn't feel as sharp to drive as the 5-series. It does handle quite nicely but you're constantly reminded that this is a front-wheel-drive chassis unlike the 5-series and E-class. You won't be tossed about as much on rough surfaces as the A6 ride comfort is smooth, the only other car that has the A6 beat on that aspect is the S90. You won't have too much to complain about with wind and road noise, as both are well hushed thanks to a well insulated cabin.

The interior feels classy and well sorted. The only car that may have the Audi sleepless at night is the Volvo S90 which has a far classier approach to its overall interior layout. The infotainment screen swings out of the dashboard and all the controls and dials fall right into your hand. The quality of them are top notch. You shouldn't expect anything less from Audi, especially at this price point. The front seats are comfortable and offer plenty of support, while those in the back may feel a bit shortchanged on foot room due to the large transmission tunnel. The boot space is decent but nothing really compares to a traditional wagon when it comes to versatility.

Premium Trim gets a navigation system, rearview parking camera, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as well as a 7-inch driver information system. You'll have to step up to the Premium Plus trim to get Full LED headlights, power tilt and telescopic adjustable steering column and four-zone automatic climate control. Top of the range Prestige gets the 3-liter supercharged six-cylinder engine, head-up display, power trunk open & close, and surround view parking camera. Our tester car was the middle of the range Premium Plus trim which had an amazing Bose surround sound system and also large 20-inch alloy wheels. The overall package did seem a tad bit expensive considering there are so many options that are more compelling to look at and to drive.

You'll love the A6 as it is comfortable to drive and easy to live with. The styling is a bit on the boring side and the interior is lavishly designed with top notch build quality. It's hard trying to find fault in the A6 but it certainly is hard to find anything to like about it, especially when you look at rivals from Volvo and Jaguar. The A6 is a good car but we just expected a little more from it considering how far ahead some of its keen rivals have leaped. It's still a great choice but for how much longer?

Likes: Both engines are silky smooth, and the all-wheel-drive helps the A6 live up to the reputation Audi is known for. The interior is top notch and elegant. We love those LED headlights.

Dislikes: You're constantly reminded that it's front-wheel-drive bias. The exterior styling is a tad bit too dull when you look at the Jaguar XF and Volvo S90.

Resting comfortably on its laurels

Mercedes has been known to rest on their laurels when it comes to the E-class. Sure it has the latest tech that all Mercedes comes with, but why would one buy this over the more exciting BMW 5-series and superbly refined Audi A6?

The E300 comes with a 2-liter turbocharged four-cylinder which is shared with the C300. We found the engine to be more than enough for the C-class and the same can be said here with the E-class. It certainly has more torque at low revs than the outgoing 3.5 six-cylinder and the running costs are much improved. What we miss the most though is that despite the high torque at low revs with this turbo four, the six-cylinder felt more refined. You can option for all-wheel-drive with the E300 if you desire the extra traction, we certainly wish that we had the opportunity to test drive both for comparison but there wasn’t any examples available during the test drive. The 4matic all-wheel-drive system certainly does offer the traction needed when the roads became slippery. Steering feedback is much improved over the previous generation while the handling aspect certainly isn’t up to snuff with the BMW 5-series. Our test car came equipped with driver select suspension setting which allowed us to slip it into sport and comfort modes. The sport mode made the suspension way too firm and borderline unforgiving, we’d much prefer the suspension in comfort mode which helped give the E-class the driving characteristics that it’s known for. It truly is comfortable to drive around town and when you’re on the highway it doesn’t feel out of its depths, but we do feel it might be worth waiting for the E400 turbocharged six-cylinder to arrive.

The interior is what you’d expect of a Mercedes, all materials used are top notch and high quality. The front seats offer plenty of support and adjustability, while the rear seat is decent in space but headroom maybe a bit tight for taller passengers. Also, life for the middle man may not be as fabulous as the exterior styling due to the high transmission tunnel and somewhat tight elbow and shoulder space. The boot is decent in space though, but the wagon version offers way more versatility. The biggest letdown for the E300 is the infotainment system which is too fiddly to operate while on the move, and also the single stalk that controls the windshield wipers and the turn signal. It’s not a complicated setup, rather than an annoying one. We found it very easy to select the windshield wipers instead of the turn signal, and it requires some getting used to as in other cars the turn signal is a separate control from the turn signals.

Mercedes tends to be stingy when it comes to standard kit. We were surprised that our tester car came fitted with keyless ignition and premium leather seats. The previous Mercedes we’ve tested didn’t have premium leather seats nor did they have keyless ignition fitted, but Bi-xenon headlamps were fitted optionally. The E300 we had as our tester car didn’t even have LED headlights fitted nor a rear reversing camera either, and at nearly $70k that’s just disappointing.

If you desire a fully kitted E300 you’ll pay an arm and a leg for one. What we like the most though is despite the high price of admission, there really isn’t any other car on the road that feels quite like a Mercedes. You’ll either love it or loathe it. We certainly love it for the refined cabin and comfortable driving experience, what we wish though is that Mercedes fitted some features such as LED headlights standard. Otherwise, the E300 is a great choice but the Volvo S90 has it beat in the styling and better four-cylinder engines.

Likes: The E300 is comfortable to drive and the turbo four offers tons of torque at low revs. This maybe the most refined and sophisticated E-class to date.

Dislikes: It can get expensive with options. Halogen headlights at this price point, really?

Pathological loves the Volvo S90

You'd think that picking an executive saloon would be an easy proposition, seeing that Audi, BMW and Mercedes dominate this segment. However, there is a new car in town and it is ready to shake things up. The Swedes really are back in town and it's known as the Volvo S90.

There are two engines available on the standard S90. The T5 uses a 2-liter turbocharged four-cylinder pumping out 250hp while the top of the range T6-AWD pumps out 315hp thanks to a turbocharged and supercharged four-cylinder. We'd choose the latter here which seems to be more flexible and offer standard all-wheel-drive which really does come in handy in handling and also extra traction. The only problem we have with this all four-cylinder engine range is that these engines aren't as refined as they should be and at this price tag it really does feel unacceptable.

We love the way the S90 drives, it's not trying to be overly sporty and we are perfectly fine with that. Steering feedback is more on the 'meh' side but that's fine because it doesn't become heavy when it doesn't need to be and is actually quite smooth when at low speeds, we just wish that it offered a little more feedback to provide a little more confidence when you do decide to drive a little spiritedly into corners and bends. Handling is more safe rather than sporty but the ride comfort is so smooth that you can forgive it for not being as sharp as a 5-series but it still isn't as refined as a E-class which is a shame because the S90 undercuts all three German Rivals in price and interior refinement.

The interior infotainment system is quite easy to navigate through and all the menus are easy to use, however we still think that it can be distracting while on the go. The front seats offer superb comfort and should be expected because Volvo does make some of the best seats in the auto market. The rear seat does plenty of space for four, but trying to squeeze five abreast maybe a bit of a squeeze due to the slightly large rear transmission tunnel. The boot offers decent space too for a sedan, it's not as versatile as the V90 but you can fold the rear seat down to increase the cargo space to your liking.

Avoid the Momentum trim and go right for the Inscription and you won't regret it. On top of getting Pilot Assist – semi autonomous drive system, you get 19-inch alloy wheels. 12.3 inch digital instrument display, linear walnut wood inlays and those snazzy Full-LED headlights. You'll have to pay extra for bits like Head-up display and Premium Air suspension. You'd have to really want to splurge on those options because the S90 is already well equipped as it is. We do however, suggest opting for the air suspension because in comfort mode it feels even more opulent than a Mercedes E-class.

We loved the S90 because it really is a breathe of fresh air in terms of design inside out and overall driving experience. We just wished that Volvo made the engines more refined or offered a turbocharged six-cylinder engine option, this would make the S90 an even stronger rival towards the ever popular German Rivals. Despite that little flaw, the S90 is a worthy contender and should be on your shortlist because like we've said in the intro of this review. The Swedes are back in town.

Likes: It doesn't drive like any of its competition and we love that. Styling inside out is something that the German Rivals don't have.

Dislikes: We wish the engines were more refined. Everything else is just nitpicking.

Our pick: Go right for the Inscription trim, it undercuts all of its German Rivals in standard kit and also classy interior décor. It's pretty hard to fault the S90 for lack of driving dynamics when it's so posh and comfortable to drive, most people will want that the most in an executive saloon and the S90 delivers.

US vs UK (Part two) Entry-level engines

We take a look at entry-level engines that's offered in UK vs US to see who gets the better engine choices.



Mercedes E-class
E200D SE (UK) 2-liter (turbo-diesel) 150hp ($44,019)
E300 (US) 2-liter turbo 241hp ($52,150)

We would gladly choose the 2-liter turbo-diesel offered in Europe with an AMG package. You get everything you love about the E-class with the running costs and the range of a small hatchback. It kind of sucks when you think about it, we associate luxury with engine size. If it doesn't get from zero to sixty quicker than a VW Golf then it's clearly not luxurious! (Sigh!)



Audi A6
SE Executive (UK) 2-liter (turbo-diesel) 187hp ($42,334)
Premium (US) 2-liter turbo 252hp ($47,600)

We really do miss the TDI engine options that we used to get here, but due to the emissions scandal we won't be seeing them anymore here. This is also quite interesting that both the A6 in UK and here are evenly kitted but the engine is what makes ours more expensive at $5,266. How many of you would pick the diesel over the gasoline engine? We certainly would.



BMW 5-series
520d SE (UK) 2-liter (turbo-diesel) 188hp ($46,695)
530i (US) 2-liter turbo 248hp ($51,400)

The previous generation of the 5-series used to come with a silky smooth 3-liter turbo-diesel which we loved. Sadly, it hasn't made it in the newest generation yet. The 3-series diesel has the same engine but with 8hp less and we love it despite the diesel clatter at idle. It would be nice to see this engine offered here in the US as luxury shouldn't be all about size and horsepower figures.



Lexus GS
GS 300h Executive Edition (UK) 2.5-liter 181hp ($46,192)
GS Turbo (US) 2-liter turbo 241hp ($46,310)

We aren't huge fans of hybrids and well to be frank, the hybrid offered in the UK version of the GS can stay there. It took us by surprise that Lexus even offered a turbo four-cylinder in the first place. The GS hybrid makes more sense as a company car buy and for anyone who drives tons of miles in the city and some on the highway. You'll have to do tons of driving to make up for what you paid for it in the hybrid premium. The turbo is way better, trust us on this one!



Volvo S90
Momentum D4 Automatic (UK) 2-liter (turbo-diesel) 187hp ($43,395)
T5 FWD (US) 2-liter turbo 250hp ($48,100)

We have yet to see a diesel Volvo sold here. It would be an interesting alternative to the T5 and the fact that it has nearly 300lb-ft torque means that it has tons of low-end torque. You can't really complain about the torque figures especially considering that most who will buy the S90 won't drive it like hooligans anyway. Low running costs and sexy Swede styling. Volvo would have a real winner on its hands.



Jaguar XF
Prestige (UK) 2-liter (turbo-diesel) 163hp ($41,635)
XF 25t (US) 2-liter turbo 247hp ($47,775)

We do get a 2-liter turbo-diesel here with 180hp but it is almost $6k more expensive than this entry-level diesel offered in the UK. Manual gearboxes aren't as common as they used to be in the US and it is a little sad too because we would be getting so many efficient and intelligent engines here. We do have a weird perception on luxury and well horsepower isn't everything. This XF is clear proof.