AudiE-Tron quattro

We’re now entering reasonably well-established times for the premium electric car. There have been fast ones, very fast ones, big ones, small ones, expensive ones, and cheap ones, and some that even attempt a bit of four-wheel-driven versatility. 

But never has an electric car come along and done onboard luxury better than Audi’s first stab at the zero-emissions template: the E-Tron Quattro. This car combines four-wheel drive and a commanding outright performance level with SUV-typical space, convenience, and usability, and also with Audi brand desirability. But what makes it stand out is how superbly hushed, comfortable, and refined it is. When we road tested one, our decibel placed its cabin noise level closer, at a 70mph cruise, to that of a Rolls-Royce Phantom than a Tesla Model X.Audi-brand modern luxury comes with state-of-the-art onboard technology too, of course, while the potential for 150kW public rapid charging, combined with an everyday range of between 200- and 250 miles on a charge, also makes the E-Tron a more usable electric car than some of its ilk. Right now, there is no more luxurious electric car in the world than this one.

BMW 7 Series

Since its launch in 1977, the 7 Series has been in the shadow of the Mercedes S-Class, but this latest version is BMW’s most committed attempt yet to fully crack the luxury saloon market. The car combines optional adaptive air suspension with pioneering infotainment and convenience features and offers a choice of two-wheelbase lengths and rear- or four-wheel-drive.

The interior trim conjures a sense of space, integrity, and usability, although the fascia is perhaps a bit too similar to that of lesser BMW saloons and lacking in a lavish material flourish. Engines are quiet, powerful, and efficient, the range opening up with the familiar six-cylinder turbodiesel option, but also taking in the most BIK-tax-friendly plug-in hybrid option in the limousine class in the shape of the 745e, and culminating with one of only a handful of remaining twelve-cylinder limousine options in the M760Li, and both are impressive works of engineering. Handling is more poised and precise than rivals – although the ride isn’t quite as well-isolated.

An unexpectedly appealing driver’s car, then, even if it falls behind its very best rivals in ways more core to the mission and identity of the luxury car.

BMW X7

Don’t think of this as an enlarged BMW X5, says Munich, but rather a jacked-up 7-Series that’s been readied for limited off-roading work. That description doesn’t much account for the fact that the X7 is a seven-seat, two-box passenger car with an extended roofline, of course – but it does tell you about the priorities that BMW’s designers and engineers had when it came to refining and tuning the car.

The car comes with a choice of one turbodiesel (the 40d) and two turbo petrol engines (the entry-level 40i and range-topping M50i) in the UK. The ‘M50d’ version of the car used to offer fully 394bhp and more than 500lb-ft of torque but has since been dropped, while the V8 'M50i' petrol winds the performance dial out to 523bhp.

On the road, the X7 handles its size and bulk well, feeling surprisingly precise and athletic when cornering. Even the car’s diesel engine is smooth and refined, developing enough torque to move the car along easily, while its ride is comfortable without running out of control. The car manages its mass better than big luxury SUV rivals and feels more intuitive to drive.

A slightly ordinary cabin, light on special material touches and differentiation from BMW’s lesser SUVs, and that controversial front-end styling are the car’s biggest disappointments. With that oversized grille, some would call the X7 ugly – but few would deny its competence or its completeness as a luxury car.

Audi Q8

A great many modern car enthusiasts have taken against the modern luxury car buyers' preference for the SUV, but when you drive a car like the Audi Q8 it’s easy to appreciate why they are so liked. This designer takes on a Q7 that has more visual presence and kerbside appeal than its dowdier, boxier relation, but the same brilliantly rich- and solid-feeling, inviting interior. 

It offers generous space for four adults conveyed at a height that makes you feel like you’re lifted above the melee of traffic below; and enough versatility and capability to deal with whatever else your daily routine is likely to throw at you, with plenty left in reserve.

Comfort and refinement are first class. The driving experience is light-feeling and filtered, with stable and secure handling being delivered as it might be on a less advanced four-wheel drive estate car. And the car’s engine range is wide. You can have six-cylinder petrol or diesel power; there’s a choice of two emissions-saving plug-in hybrid petrol engines, one with as much as 457bhp; and then there are the SQ8 and RS Q8 performance models, which allow you to mix as much urgency into the Q8’s driving experience as anyone could want.

SUV or not, the Q8 is undeniably one of the best luxury vehicles that Audi makes at the moment.

The LS has always been a niche choice in the UK, but its success elsewhere has guaranteed this latest version a seat at the top saloon table. 

Lexus LS

The car's had a major styling overhaul, and the interior feels both modern and luxurious in a likably unconventional way. There are four trim levels, the top one coming with plenty of equipment and, spec-depending, also a rare kind of material richness that few cars in the world can match.

Dynamically, the LS is less convincing as a luxury item. The 3.5-liter hybrid V6 has to work hard to cope with the car’s 2420kg weight, and while the car's handling is quite impressive, its noisy and slightly brusque run-flat-shod ride is quite the opposite.

Against the latest S-Class, 7 Series, and A8, the LS is an interesting alternative but still not the most credible of rivals.