The best luxury cars – driven, rated and ranked
Luxury cars offer great ride quality, the latest technology and enviable prestige – and these are the 10 best
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by Jack Warrick and Illya Verpraet
9 mins read
12 February 2025
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When you think of the best luxury cars, what immediately comes to mind? Your brain is likely drawn to cars such as the Mercedes-Benz S-Class or the BMW 7 Series – but times have changed.
While these two venerable luxury saloons are still going strong, the increasing number of SUVs on our roads means that the traditional perspective of what a luxury car actually is has dramatically shifted.
SUV or saloon, a luxury car is a premium model that offers superior performance, cutting-edge technology and unparalleled comfort in both the front seats and the back, a sumptuous interior and isolating ride and noise refinement.
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Whether you’re after sleek sports cars, high-end saloons or opulent SUVs, the options are vast. For many owners, these cars will also be status symbols above all – some powered by large-capacity diesel engines or V8s, or even electric or plug-in hybrid systems.
To help you narrow down your choices, we’ve curated a list of the top 10 best luxury cars on sale – and our top pick is the electric BMW i7, which sits above its peers for comfort, driving dynamics and practicality.
You might see some notable brands aren’t included on this list. Don’t worry: we’ve also put together a list of the top 10 best super-luxury cars. There you will find the even pricier Rolls-Royce, Bentley and Mercedes-Maybach models.
1. BMW i7
9
- Design8
- Interior10
- Performance9
- Ride & Handling9
- Costs7
Pros
Cutting-edge interior technology
Electric powertrain is potent, slick and quiet
Ride and handling compromise feels luxurious
Cons
Range disappoints in the real world
Those, er, subjective looks
A reasonably priced 7 Series is now a thing of the past
Best for: All-around luxury
The new BMW 7 Series is all about five-star cosseting and cutting-edge tech, and the electric version, badged the BMW i7, sits at the top of our list of best luxury cars.
Perhaps it should offer greater range, and be easier on the eye, but with those exceptions, this grand old Bavarian could hardly have put its foot forward better.
Regardless of which powertrain you choose, you’re unlikely to lose the big BMW in a crowd. Not only is it a vast machine, but also the slab-sided styling and gargantuan front grille mean the 7 Series is a ‘challenging’ aesthetic proposition.
Not so the interior, which sets the i7 apart from its predecessors, with acres of space to lounge around in, the latest technology and the highest-quality materials, including the surprisingly indulgent cashmere wool trim you can choose for the seats.
Driving the 7 Series is as good as anything else in the class, with up to 538bhp plus a supple and controlled ride that easily matches the best efforts of the Range Rover and the Mercedes-Benz S-Class.
One of our gripes with the new 7 Series (aside from its questionable looks) is the i7’s range. It’s officially claimed to stand at 385 miles, but our tests returned a disappointing 264 miles.
Read our BMW i7 review
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2. Mercedes-Benz S-Class
9
- Design9
- Interior9
- Performance8
- Ride & Handling9
- Costs8
Pros
Versatile hybrid powertrain
World-class cabin ambience
Cons
Neither as quiet nor as smooth on the move as we hoped
Certain driver assistance systems frustrate
Best for: Being chauffered
BMW may have knocked it out of the park with the latest 7 Series, but the Mercedes-Benz S-Class is in hot pursuit of that top spot, despite being on sale in its current form since 2020.
Something so long and heavy has little right to handle as tidily as the S-Class does.
The S-Class’s interior is still one of the most luxurious on the market and one of the materially comfortable places to sit while on the move by some distance. Ambient lighting and connectivity are very well executed and the many digital screens are practical rather than jarring to the eye.
There’s also very little wrong with the S-Class’s range of petrol, diesel and hybrid powertrains, which offer between 317bhp for the entry-level S350d and 620bhp for the blisteringly quick AMG S63 E Performance.
If you want your big Merc with a big battery instead of a big engine, you need to look towards the Mercedes EQS. It matches the S-Class for luxury and driving competence and a 2024 update means it’s now capable of up to 480 miles of range on a charge.
Read our Mercedes-Benz S-Class review
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3. BMW iX
9
- Design7
- Interior9
- Performance9
- Ride & Handling8
- Costs8
Pros
Exceptional refinement and rolling comfort
SUV-typical space and versatility
Inviting luxury interior
Cons
Divisive exterior styling
Manual regen control could be improved for better drivability
Best for: Seat comfort
When the BMW iX was launched in 2021, we labelled the big electric SUV “a BMW like no other”.
The iX has compelling fitness for purpose and a real completeness of appeal as a near-£100,000 luxury car.
Some critics have used other, less polite words to make their feelings plain about the way this car looks and the departure from BMW’s design ethos. However, an update in 2025 to the iX’s exterior means it’s now actually reasonably handsome.
It also gained a host of powertrain and battery upgrades. An 80bhp power boost means the entry-level iX xDrive45 now produces 402bhp and 516lb ft, while a larger 94.8kWh battery produces a range of 374 miles.
The iX xDrive60 comes with 536bhp and 564lb ft and an even mightier range of 426 miles, but it’s the M70 which boasts the headline figures, offering 659bhp and 811lb ft for a 0-62mph sprint time of just 3.8sec.
We remain unconvinced that anyone needs their internal organs rearranged any more violently than the mid-range model is already capable of, though.
Choose an iX and you will have a relaxing and understated luxury ambience, with world-class rolling refinement and drivability, instant and effortless performance and creditable real-world range that’s unmatched by other electric SUVs.
Read our BMW iX review
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4. Porsche Cayenne
9
- Design8
- Interior8
- Performance9
- Ride & Handling9
- Costs8
Pros
Tidy, expensive-feeling, digitally updated cabin
Still the class benchmark when it comes to driving satisfaction
Rides very well for the most part and has a spacious cockpit
Cons
Lacks ride isolation compared with some rivals
Electric-only range of PHEVs is good but not class best
Heavier PHEVs don’t handle quite like their siblings
Best for: Driving dynamics
The Cayenne is near the top end of the luxury car rankings, thanks to its seriously impressive blend of sports car-like driving dynamics, high-quality finish and ergonomic excellence.
If you have been waiting for an uncomplicated, relatively traditional but really enjoyable luxury SUV to go all in on and keep forever, this may be it.
While other cars in the segment might boast a slightly more settled ride than Porsche’s flagship SUV, few can match its effective V8 and its overall dynamic edge.
The Cayenne’s interior is one of breath-taking quality, its ride refinement gives away almost nothing to the most comfortable in the class and its performance is as strong as ever, backed by a range of engines that may no longer include a diesel but does include an impressive pair of plug-in hybrids, a turbo V6 and a turbo V8 petrol.
There’s now even the more rakish Cayenne Coupé, should the (already pretty decidedly unboxy) regular Cayenne somehow not seem desirable or special enough.
Then there’s the wild GT, which infuses the big SUV with some genuine 911 GT3 driver appeal and holds bragging rights as the fastest SUV around the Nürburgring.
Read our Porsche Cayenne review
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5. Range Rover
9
- Design8
- Interior9
- Performance8
- Ride & Handling10
- Costs5
Pros
Vast space
Clever PHEVs
Excellent performance
Cons
Less refined on larger wheels
Expensive
Heavy
Best for: Off-road ability
The latest, fifth-generation Range Rover is a very long way from the mildly gentrified farm truck that it once was.
In cabin isolation and ride composure, it’s unrivalled by anything in this class and, we would wager, a few classes either side of it.
Under the skin, it’s all-new, featuring Land Rovers MLA-Flex architecture, which has an 80% aluminium construction for lightness and strength (torsional rigidity is up 50% over the old car).
In combination with finely honed air suspension, 48V active anti-roll bars and the availability of four-wheel steering, this Range Rover handles with assured precision and surprising agility. It’s also whisper-quiet on the move.
A mix of petrol, diesel and hybrid engines means there’s a Range Rover for everyone, and there’s an EV on the way too.
For fleet operators looking to keep their CEOs happy, the PHEV P440e and P510e models offer up to 70 miles of electric-only range, making for 5% benefit-in-kind tax.
A 523bhp 4.4-litre petrol V8 (bought from BMW) tops the range.
Whichever model you choose, you will benefit from the same interior that effortlessly melds traditional club-class quality and comfort with all the latest tech. There’s also more than enough space to lounge around, although that hasn’t stopped Land Rover from offering an extended-wheelbase version too.
Ultimately, whatever you need and want from a luxury car, the brilliantly executed Range Rover has it covered. The price of entry these days has risen to just shy of £100,000, which is rather a lot, but it’s a mark of the car’s abilities that it easily justifies this figure and more besides.
Read our Range Rover review
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6. Mercedes-Benz EQS
9
- Design8
- Interior9
- Performance9
- Ride & Handling9
- Costs8
Pros
A wonderful, luxurious way to travel
Effortless performance
Lots of tech
Cons
Lacks the dynamic polish of the Porsche Taycan
Not quite as comfortable as the Mercedes S-Class
Expensive
Best for: Electric range
Mercedes-Benz is taking a rather different approach to its flagship EV saloon from BMW: whereas the 7 Series and i7 share a platform, the S-Class and the EQS are entirely different cars.
The EQS also delivers everything worthy of the S-Class name. It really is a wonderful, luxurious way to travel.
The quiet running of an EV undoubtedly suits a luxury car, and the EQS is quite the engineering achievement. With a drag coefficient of just 0.20Cd, it uses the lack of air vents to good effect and, in combination with a massive 120kWh battery, that helps it to achieve a real-world range of close to 400 miles in 450+ guise.
It’s roomy and quiet and it rides reasonably well, too. However, some of the materials in the interior aren’t up to the standards you would expect of a car that starts at more than £105,000.
The EQSs we’ve driven in the UK have also come on very big wheels and so couldn’t quite match the best-riding cars here.
Read our Mercedes-Benz EQS review
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7. Range Rover Sport
8
- Design8
- Interior9
- Performance8
- Ride & Handling9
- Costs7
Pros
Outstanding mechanical refinement and low-speed luxury appeal
Such a broad range of dynamic ability
Improved interior
Cons
Some will hate the exterior design
Some 15-20% more expensive than rivals
The SV is particularly pricey
Best for: Performance
The last Range Rover wasn’t a small car, but the new one is truly gargantuan on European roads. Four-wheel steering and straight sides make it manageable, but you might just want the Range Rover experience in a slightly smaller package. And the Range Rover Sport shares much with its full-sized sibling, not least its outstanding mechanical refinement and luxury appeal.
The Range Rover Sport does everything we expect of a luxury SUV, a proper off-roader and a big, enveloping driver’s car.
Where the Sport really distinguishes itself is its capacity to control its considerable mass, to sharpen the precision of its responses and to distinguish itself as something of a driver’s car. While it’s still an undemanding vehicle to drive, it’s also tactile and at least a little communicative.
So if the Sport is a slightly more Europe-appropriate Range Rover, isn’t it also simply a better Range Rover? Not really, because some of the perceived quality of its interior materials doesn’t quite stack up. And when comparing it with the best luxury cars, that does knock it down a few places.
Read our Range Rover Sport review
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8. Audi A8
7
- Design8
- Interior7
- Performance8
- Ride & Handling7
- Costs7
Pros
Very comfortable ride
Lots of leg room
Great interior quality
Cons
It’s ageing
PHEV version has disappointing electric-only range
Best for: Classiness
The Audi A8 is one of the older cars on this list. The current generation was always a bit behind its peers for refinement, and although its quality interior feels like it was built to outlast civilisation itself, it lacks the sense of occasion of the latest BMW 7 Series or Range Rover.
Overall, the A8 lacks the detached elegance of the S-Class on the move, and neither does it trouble the 7 Series for driver appeal.
A facelift in 2022 has allowed Audi to throw a box of technology at its flagship limousine, though.
While all A8s have adaptive air suspension, the sportier, V8-powered S8 features what Audi calls Predictive Active Suspension, which mixes forward-facing cameras with a height-adjustable air suspension set-up that incorporates fast-acting electromechanical actuators at each wheel.
The A8 really works, thanks to its air springs and 48V active anti-roll bars. Bumps and sleeping policemen pass by uncannily smoothly.
Noise and vibration isolation can’t match the big hitters on this list, however, and the suspension can’t smother shorter, sharper inputs as effectively as bigger ones.
There’s a choice of turbocharged engines – a 282bhp diesel or 335bhp petrol – with four-wheel drive as standard and a 48V electrical system that boosts efficiency.
Read our Audi A8 review
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9. BMW X7
8
- Design8
- Interior8
- Performance9
- Ride & Handling8
- Costs7
Pros
Finely judged blend of everyday ride quality and great handling
Awesome performance
Good visibility, endless space and opulent materials
Cons
Not as serene as the Range Rover
Not as polished as the Porsche Cayenne
Best for: Practicality
Don’t think of the X7 as an enlarged X5, says BMW, but rather a jacked-up 7 Series that has been readied for limited off-roading work.
This BMW doesn’t reward like the Cayenne, but there is satisfaction to be had from behind the wheel and probably to a greater degree than in any other full-size SUV able to muster so much in the way of rolling refinement.
That description doesn’t much account for the fact that the X7 is a seven-seat, two-box 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, which has now been facelifted to bring in line with the lower-slung 7 Series.
On the road, the X7 handles its size and bulk well, feeling surprisingly precise and athletic when cornering, while its ride is comfortable without running out of control.
The X7 offers a strong powertrain line-up including mild-hybrid-assisted straight-six petrol and diesel engines. We’ve driven the former in smooth and eager 375bhp xDrive40i guise, but we suspect the torquey and efficient 347bhp xDrive40d will be the best foil to the high-riding X7.
For those wanting the ultimate in conspicuous consumption, there’s always the M60i, complete with a new M-fettled 523bhp twin-turbocharged 4.4-litre V8 that helps it sprint from 0-62mph in just 4.7sec – numbers you would have needed an M5 for not too long ago.
Read our BMW X7 review
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10. Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV
7
- Design7
- Interior6
- Performance8
- Ride & Handling7
- Costs7
Pros
Decent efficiency and enormous battery result in a long range
Very relaxing over long distances
Hugely spacious
Cons
Interior has neither the versatility of the best seven-seaters nor the opulence of the best luxury cars
Low-speed ride is quite poor
Very expensive
Best for: Reduced road noise
The EQS saloon (number five on this list) sits on a completely different platform from the S-Class (number two on this list), and the EQS SUV, as you would imagine from the slightly inelegant name, shares those underpinnings.
The drivetrain is impressive and the chassis technology allows the EQS SUV to deal with its considerable weight remarkably well.
That’s not such a bad thing: the steering feel is surprisingly defined and refinement is an area it scores exceptionally well in. There’s virtually no road noise.
Passengers will just have to put up with the tiniest trace of wind noise and, even then, that’s mostly at motorway speed. Passengers will be able to feel potholes, much in the same way that you can kind of feel the earth spinning on its axis if you really, really concentrate.
The huge shape lends itself to a vast amount of interior space. The high-set second-row seating has leg room for days, and even with the third row up, there’s a good amount of boot space.
The range, like in the EQS, is long, thanks to gargantuan batteries.
But for the EQS SUV to feature more prominently in this list, it would need some interior changes. The plastic air vents and gloss black centre console would be suspect in a car costing half as much.
