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To stand out in this class, competitors need to mix deft handling, a comfortable ride, impressive interior quality and respectable fuel economy all together with the saloon car's most traditional calling card: elegant three-box exterior style and desirability. It's a balance that can be difficult to strike. Below are the cars we think have best nailed this brief.
With sales of SUVs skyrocketing, fewer and fewer people are getting behind the wheel of compact saloons, which is a shame because there are some cracking options out there.
To stand out in this class, competitors need to mix deft handling, a comfortable ride, impressive interior quality and respectable fuel economy all together with the saloon car's most traditional calling card: elegant three-box exterior style and desirability. It's a balance that can be difficult to strike. Below are the cars we think have best nailed this brief.
1. BMW 3 Series
The return of the BMW 3-Series to the top of our compact saloons rankings, in this its seventh full model generation, has very little, if anything, to do with luck.
The 3-Series has brought greater handling dynamism and driver appeal to this segment than any rival over the last four decades. Of late it has added into the mix engines that lead the class for performance and efficiency, making it even harder to overlook. And now, with its rich, classy, spacious and technologically advanced cabin and top-notch mechanical refinement to match its other dynamic qualities, the ‘G20’-generation 3-Series has become a more outstanding class-leading act than you’ll find in many of the other vehicle classes with which we concern ourselves.
2. Jaguar XE
The Jaguar XE was a bold attempt to take on some of the biggest-selling and most complete compact executive saloons in the world, by relative minnow Jaguar. While it hasn’t transformed the brand that created it, it has certainly had a bigger impact upon the class in which it sits than its sales footprint might suggest; and it’s well worth considering if you want a business saloon that delivers for its driver first and foremost, and that works better on British roads, in some ways, than any other.
The British car has a supple ride and handling compromise that gives it the poise and dexterity to deal with UK cross-country roads particularly well. Being one of the smaller cars in the class, it still feels relatively small within its lane, and has very impressive steering precision and handling balance when driven quickly.
Performance from the car’s petrol and diesel Ingenium engines is not quite as strong as the XE’s handling, with upper-level petrols using a combination of four-wheel drive and automatic gearbox that makes for slightly disappointing performance and fuel economy. But Jaguar’s new RDE-compliant, rear-driven D180 diesel option is a strong one for company car drivers.
3. Alfa Romeo Giulia
The Giulia marks a rather dramatic and significant return to form for Alfa Romeo. Built on a new rear-driven model platform and well able to mix it with the best cars in this class for handling poise and driver appeal, it’s also as fine-looking a saloon car as the class has seen in recent years and, with strong engines in its armoury, has all of the qualities that Alfa brand devotees would be likely to want from it.
In the way it goes about dealing with a challenging road, the car has a rare blend of light-rimmed handling agility, handling balance and compact on-road feel that give even diesel-engined versions a surfeit of sporting appeal. It's let down somewhat by an interior that seems low-rent when judged against the German alternatives, and by a lacklustre infotainment system that’s a bit light on features and unintuitive to use.
4. Mercedes C-Class
Where the 3-Series, Giulia and XE place more focus on driver engagement, Mercedes has taken a more luxurious and refined approach to what a compact saloon can be with the C-Class. Think of the ‘W205’-generation ‘C’ as a miniaturised S-Class and you wont go far wrong in your expectation of the kind of dynamic compromise it offers.
Material quality inside is among the best in this class, and overall the interior is only let down by the fact that some taller passengers will find space in the back a bit tight. Standard equipment is generous across the range, too – with the technological and material highlights of top-of-the-range versions being particularly ritzy and impressive, and the car’s driver assist systems being very strong.
5. Tesla Model 3
Hitting the top half of this super-competitive top ten with its first small saloon is a major achievement for electric car trailblazer Tesla. The production rollout of the vital Model 3, the most affordable model yet produced by Elon Musk’s zeitgeist-defining car-making firm, is now nearing completion, with even right-hand drive production well underway and entry-level ‘standard range’ versions of the car, available from around £35,000, likely to hit the UK market later this year.
We road tested the car in rear-wheel drive ‘standard range plus’ form in 2019; and even with a couple of more powerful options available above it in Tesla’s model range, it was hard not to be struck by super-responsive and pacey outright performance of the car, as well as its agile handling, its athletic and compelling overall driving experience, and its creditable 200-mile real-world range.
6. Volvo S60
Volvo is thrusting itself right back towards the sharp end of the compact saloon argument with this, its third-generation S60 saloon – and the first to be built outside of Europe, in Ridgeville, South Carolina.
Great-looking, great to travel in, relaxing to drive and quite practical with it, the S60 will appeal to people who aren’t catered to by the more sporting mission statements of other cars in this class – but should enjoy plenty of success in doing so. It has good powertrain refinement, decent front-driven handling and a well-rounded, comfortable ride – although latterly, avoiding Volvo’s bigger optional alloy wheel sizes is advisable if you want the last word in ride refinement.
Available with either a 247bhp turbocharged petrol engine and badged ‘T5’ or as a petrol-electric, four-wheel drive plug-in ‘T8’ with either 385- or 400bhp (depending on chosen specification), the S60 has plenty of performance – although less powerful and expensive options and a more efficiency-minded and more affordable hybrid, will be along later. Volvo will not offer a diesel.
7. Audi A4
A firm favourite with company car drivers, the Audi A4 makes a strong case for itself based on its excellent perceived cabin quality; the smart material richness of its interior; its smart exterior design; its refined, economical engines; and its brilliant infotainment systems.
8. Volkswagen Passat
The Volkswagen Passat has plenty going for it. It has a tidy, well-made interior, a refined and widely accomplished driving experience, strong standard kit and handsome – if a little subdued – exterior styling.
A range of economical Euro 6-standard four-cylinder diesel engines offers commendable refinement, performance and economy, while the plug-in hybrid Passat GTE gives buyers the option of lower CO2 emissions and electric motoring over a limited range. VW's 2019 facelift for the car added a bigger drive battery for the GTE, boosting zero-emissions range by about 40 per cent, to a claimed 43 miles.
9. Vauxhall Insignia Grand Sport
The second-generation Vauxhall Insignia enters the compact saloon market armed with attractive pricing, a great amount of standard equipment and plenty of interior space. The Grand Sport's handsome exterior styling is another draw, and it’s now much more comfortable than its predecessor.
Family buyers will find that the Insignia’s interior is far roomier than plenty of cars in this class. Cabin ambience and perceived quality aren’t quite at premium-brand level, but both are good enough to engage with every day without grating or disappointing.
10. Kia Stinger
Kia’s new flagship model has made a good start at redefining just what people should expect from the South Korean manufacturer.
The Stinger flaunts handsome styling, excellent handling and, in full-fat GT-S guise, a properly potent 3.3-litre twin-turbocharged V6 for a price that will only buy you four cylinders elsewhere. The car’s four-cylinder engines are more ordinary in use, but there’s still decent performance, refinement and economy to be had from both.
Source www.autocar.co.uk
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