Best saloon cars 2024 – practical performance heroes

The best sports and super saloons are still cars for all occasions, able to lunge across long distances with the best GTs and deliver near-sports and supercar thrills on the very best roads. In between, they are faithful family expresses, with decent boot space, four doors and Isofix. They’re attractive, even a little aggressive to look at, enough to catch glances of admiration from those who know. But they should also be unassuming and unpretentious to most others, almost blending in with the traffic around them, while doing all the same jobs without compromise.

In a very real sense, if you want one car to do it all, you need to look at some form of saloon. For if your acquiescence to practicality goes too far, you find yourself in a crossover or an SUV, the high performance versions of which are simply too compromised to satisfy at a level those with evo sensibilities crave. Likewise, most coupes, sports and supercars, simply aren’t appropriate for a lot of the day–to–day jobs a super saloon will handle without a sweat.

Of course, the saloon genre is as vast as its history is long. Today, they range from traditional three-box execs, to slope-backed, almost-coupes. They’re petrol, hybrid and electric powered, rear and all-wheel drive and come in numerous size brackets. Some are incredibly subtle and err more on the side of a daily driver, than an outright thriller. Some are shod in carbon aero addenda, dispense with their back seats and consequently, much of their practical capability – hello Jaguar XE SV Project 8, Alfa Romeo Giulia GTAm and Porsche Taycan Turbo GT. But it’s the ones that tread the very difficult balance down the middle, that have our utmost admiration.

This is an arena that has in the past been largely defined and dominated by the trifecta of German giants, Audi, BMW and Mercedes. They built their core lineups and reputations with a beloved bloodline of three-box machines but contenders and pretenders have always stepped up.

Despite the challenges facing traditional high-performance cars, the sports saloon and super saloon still have an immediate future thanks to electrification. This means that this list will likely look very different in 12 months' time as hybrid and electric powertrains lift the saloon to new heights of performance. This time next year, there’s every chance we’ll be adding the new hybridised Audi RS5 to this list, while the new BMW M5, the new Porsche Taycan Turbo S and Audi e-tron GT, already feature.

For now pure ICE still reigns, powering a range of superb high-performance four doors that are better now than ever.

Best sports saloons 2024

• Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio
• Audi RS3
• BMW M3 Competition
• Audi S5
• Porsche Panamera GTS
• BMW M5
• Audi e-tron GT
• Mercedes-AMG C43
• Audi RS7 Performance

Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio

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The Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio has long been a firm evo favourite, with continuous developments since its 2016 launch keeping it dynamically sharp in the face of constant opposition. The latest tinkered-with Giulia QV brings extra power, a recalibrated chassis and a new mechanical limited-slip differential, elevating its talents still further. The Giulia Quadrifoglio is as a result is more approachable, tractable and alacritous than ever, still with the adjustability and sinewy twin turbo V6 muscle we’ve always adored it for.

At the heart of the Quadrifoglio lies a superb 90-degree twin-turbo 2.9-litre V6 that now kicks out 513bhp. It’s mated to an eight-speed auto that’s controlled by a pair of flamboyantly large aluminium paddles, driving the rear wheels alone via a carbonfibre prop shaft. 

The body is equally exotic, featuring a lightweight mix of carbon and aluminium panels wrapped around telephone-dial wheels, sophisticated double wishbone suspension and multi-way adaptive dampers. Oh, and did we mention its development was led by the same man who brought us the Ferrari 458 Speciale?

On the move the Alfa’s Ferrari DNA isn’t hard to spot. The big giveaways are the wrist-flick quick steering and surprisingly supple ride. Yet it’s the car’s poise, balance and grip when really pushing on that leaves the deepest impression – this is a tremendously fast and accomplished machine that’s more engaging than almost anything else with four doors.

Sure, the optional carbon-ceramic brakes lack manners at low speed and the engine doesn't sound particularly musical (although it endows the Quadrifoglio with a brutal turn of speed), but these niggles don’t detract from what is a sublime saloon.

Audi RS3

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The Audi RS3 clings on in 2025 in a familiar form: sharp of snout and making an entrance on a potent wave of five-cylinder warbling. Its days are surely numbered but they aren’t up yet, and arguably, a model that started life with a stumble is now on its finest form.

With adjustments and tuning to an already competent package, the RS3 in its updated form distances itself further from Audi Sport archetypes. It's keener to turn in, it’s more power- adjustable thanks to its torque-splitter rear differential, and its chassis breathes with a road or circuit better than it ever has. It’s a car in which you eventually realise, the instinct to scrub off speed to mitigate nose- heavy understeer can be unlearned. Even the non- ceramic brakes are up to the task of heaving the 1565kg RS3 to a stop with repeatable proficiency.

Of course, the engine remains the RS3’s star turn, it’s defining feature. Still bristling with muscle at 394bhp and 369lb-ft and still sounding like nothing else, the barrel-chested urgency with which it forces the RS3 up a straight stretch is irreplicable by rivals with fewer cylinders and less cubic capacity. It’s a joyous dinosaur.

BMW M3 Competition

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If you were to tell a die-hard BMW M fan 20 years ago that the BMW M3 was now a turbocharged, all-wheel-drive saloon with a weight figure close to that of the E39 M5, they might not have believed you. But as BMW M has proven time and time again, its ability to create brilliant performance cars through new generations of powertrain and chassis technology means the latest M3 is one of its finest. 

While the CS version was one of the best saloons on the planet, it was a short- lived special, with the facelifted M3 Competition now taking the reins. We’ve yet to try the updated car on UK roads, but we can hope that it skims a bit of the CS’s dialled-up focus, power and capability off the top. The standard M3 Competition that came before was already an eCoty contender in 2021. Now for 2025, the updated car wades into battle with a boost to 523bhp from its twin-turbocharged straight six. The headline figures aren’t changed especially for the new M3 Competition, though the extra power does shave 0.6sec off its 0-124mph time, now down to 11.8sec for the saloon.

Though the rear-driven car is now no longer available, it’s no great loss. The xDrive was always the version that made this generation of M3. We can’t see a small boost in power, an updated steering wheel, new infotainment software and revised front lights ruining what is one of the most potent and desirable saloons of the last few years.

Audi S5

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Audi’s new ‘petrol odds, EV evens’ naming strategy has manifested in the new Audi A5 and S5, traditionally coupe names, transitioning to the saloon and estate class. It’s not just a badge with a bigger digit though, with the S5 bringing mild-hybrid technology, deftly-tuned adaptive dampers and a quattro sport limited-slip differential to the party.

We start with the engine, which is a derivative of the old 3-litre turbocharged V6, only it now features mild hybridity with a power generator and a variable geometry turbocharger for a healthy 362bhp and 269lb -ft. The result is improved response low down and improved efficiency and emissions everywhere else, with 62mph arriving in 4.5sec on the way to a 155mph top speed. It may not be as powerful as the 400bhp-plus Mercedes C43 but the Audi S5 matches it in terms of acceleration.

It’s a surprisingly tuneful mill that’s enjoyable to play with up and down the rev range with the seven speed dual-clutch transmission. It’s also surprisingly composed at speed down a road, the adaptive dampers admirably controlling its not inconsiderable mass. Quite how this performance translates to the stressed surfaces of the UK’s road network remains to be seen. No, it doesn’t steer with the most tactility, but it has sharp responses and together with the diff, gets the S5 turned in with a keenness alien to some hot Audis.

The S5 is a fine car in and of itself, surprisingly so. What’s exciting, is the bandwidth left over for the upcoming RS5. For now, Audi’s small warmed- over saloon is the freshest and one of the best of its type.

Porsche Panamera GTS

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Is the Porsche Panamera GTS a high-performance four-door coupe, a super saloon, or a luxurious limousine with an outrageous turn of speed? Regardless of how you view it, there’s no denying that it’s a deeply impressive piece of kit. Despite its size and weight it still goes and handles with the alacrity you’d expect from a car bearing the Porsche badge.

The big Porker has been updated for 2024 and is resolute in GTS form, in sticking to pure combustion power, courtesy of a twin-turbo V8. While power is up from before, 493bhp isn’t exactly going to make the new 717bhp BMW M5 blush. That said, it does undercut the M5’s weight by over 300kg. 

It’s not got the all- out intensity of some of the very best super saloons but there is a duality to its personality and truly unshakable capability. The chassis doesn’t use the new Active Ride suspension the Turbo S E-Hybrid gets but it’s 10mm lower than standard, riding on adaptive dampers and two-chamber air springs. It also gets stiffer anti-roll bars and a torque vectoring rear diff, adding agility. 

The GTS could have been edgier to try and tempt BMW M5 CS owners away from their unicorn super saloons but there are subtleties to the GTS’s dynamic manners that are there to enjoy. Whatever way you look at it, it’s a compellingly capable machine.

BMW M5

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The new BMW M5 has very big boots to fill, with the memory of the sublime BMW M5 CS still vivid in all our minds. The odds were against it, as its controversial kerb weight of over 2400kg had many doubting BMW M could possibly tie it down as an enjoyable and effective super saloon. 

We needn’t have worried too much, as BMW has managed it. The new M5 is a masterclass in disguising mass, deploying its 717bhp (coming courtesy of the old 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 with new hybrid tech) to devastating effect. It stops, goes, turns and controls itself with the decorum of a car hundreds of kilos lighter.

As infinitely adjustable as you may expect, the goldilocks zone is far from buried within the M5’s sprawling configurability. The do-everything ‘Comfort’ setting is excellent in its own right. Sport damping and steering aren’t really necessary for hustling on the road. The sport setting for the brakes does improve feel and obviously, Sport and Sport Plus settings for the powertrain allows you to call up the full 717bhp at will. The dynamic balance of the car is topped off by switching the 4wd to MDM mode, which adds a rear bias without switching the front axle off completely.

It still doesn’t flow with anything like the interactivity and life of the eCoty-winning M5 CS. Rather, it’s an M5 designed to expand the bandwidth of the badge, combining the ability to run on electric power for up to 43 miles, with an easily reached 190mph top speed (when the M Driver pack is added). It’s comfortable, cosseting, and almost infinitely capable.

Audi e-tron GT

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The Audi e-tron GT has always been the unlikely sibling of the Porsche Taycan and indeed, an unlikely feather in the Audi Sport cap. For while electric cars and brutally fast cars are very much in Audi’s wheelhouse, there have been fewer dynamic, interactive, and adjustable saloons wearing the four rings. The e-tron GT is an exception, in spite of its weight, in spite of its size, in spite of being an EV – and in spite of its badge.

Updated for 2024, the e-tron GT range is now split into three, with the S e-tron GT that opens the range sporting power to match the old flagship, at 671bhp. The RS e-tron GT has a full-bodied 844bhp and if that’s not enough, the 912bhp RS e-Tron GT Performance should suffice. It’s not just a series of power bumps, either. It now has an active chassis system that uses air springs and hydraulically-connected active dampers, removing the need for anti-roll bars. There’s also a quicker steering rack and rear steering, all working together to make the e-tron GT more dynamic and agile, as well as faster. They also have a serious range boost, with the S e-tron GT claimed to be good for 370+ miles on a charge.

The results? Well, it was never going to trouble anything for the eCoty crown but it’s a thoroughly impressive, oddly engaging, distinctly un-Audi-like device, that’s as pleasant to drive as it is to look at. On the inside, a steering wheel that now features haptic controls is thankfully the only real move away from real buttons, as the e-tron GT keeps the physical controls that always gave it serious appeal over the Porsche Taycan.

Mercedes-AMG C43

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The days of barrel-chested V8 saloons in Mercedes-AMG’s lineup are behind us – that hurts just to type. But while the weighty plug-in hybrid C63 misses the mark, the Mercedes-AMG C43, that utilises a version of the same bombastic four-cylinder engine but without the heavy electric bits, proves to be oddly compelling. If you look to the past, Mercedes has form with enjoyable performance saloons with four cylinders. The C43 is no 190E Cosworth replacement but it has its charms.

Firstly, the engine. Short on cylinders and cubic capacity it may be but it’s a stout performer with some very impressive technology. 402bhp and 369lb ft is plenty to get the C43 going down the road, especially given the response of the electric turbocharger with a small motor that can spin up to 175,000rpm. If you’re in search of such things, F1 derived tech in a sporty road car is always good to see.

Happily, this motor finds itself housed in a competent, high tech chassis, with 4Matic four-wheel drive delivering a sensible 31:69 front/rear torque split, for some AMG-typical power adjustability. The C43 is suspended on active dampers and has rear-steer, to really sharpen up responses on turn in, while helping high speed stability. The only real blot in the C43’s dynamic copybook is the inert, synthetic-feeling steering. Nevertheless, the junior performance C-Class is a bit of a dark horse that shouldn’t be overlooked for the sins of its big brother.

Audi RS7 Performance

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Does an abundance of Audis on this list speak more of a run of fine form in Ingolstadt, or a slight drought in the world of performance saloons? The answer is probably a little of both, because the Audi RS7 Performance is absolutely a more-door of note. Like a few cars mentioned above, it straddles the blurred lines between coupe and saloon. It’s a sleek, expensive-looking thing, with the hardware and figures to match and the added practicality of a rear hatch, rather than a traditional three-box boot.

With the ubiquitous 4-litre twin-turbo V8 wicked up to a monstrous 621bhp and 627lb ft, this vast machine can embarrass some supercars on pace. It’ll get to 62mph in 3.4sec on the way to a leashed 174mph top speed. While it’s not going to match the most potent Porsche Panamera, it’s still more than enough performance for road use for 99 per cent of the time.

If long-serving doubters wonder if this much power in an Audi is a recipe for catastrophic understeer, fear not. The RS7 Performance is a beacon of neutrality on the road, in part thanks to its generously fat 285-section tyres. There’s even a sense of adjustability thanks to the Sport differential. If overall it doesn’t have the fluid, absolutely confident feel of a 4WD M car, it is still devastatingly effective.