Luxury saloon, knockdown price | Six of the Best
Want four doors and at least eight cylinders for a fraction of the new price? You're going to...
Audi A8 L, 2013, 112k, £14,000
While you can rely on virtually any volume-produced saloon to steadily haemorrhage value once off the showroom floor, it is typically the luxurious ones that mimic a base jumper stepping from a window ledge. Granted, they have the furthest to fall (and no one at the top end of the market wants an old one), but wait long enough and you’ll almost always reach the point when you get an astonishing amount of car for what seems like pennies. Case in point: this long-wheelbase A8 from 2013. Kitted to the nines, plush to the point of princely, and powered by the sleeping giant that is the W12. Sure, it’s seen a bit of long-distance life and isn’t the most flamboyant saloon in the world, but it is a testament to old-school Germanic powerhouse making and will serve you like a family retainer for decades yet. All for £14k.
Jaguar XJ Portfolio, 2010, 61k, £11,999
If the A8 is too dyed-in-the-wool, you could always do what style-conscious British execs have done since time immemorial and buy a big Jag. Granted, the X351 never embodied ‘debonair’ in quite the same way its predecessors did, but it still seemed cut from a different cloth than most of its direct rivals - not least because it was genuinely lovely to drive. That fact overrides the obvious shortfall in tech glitz that you’ll encounter the moment you sit down (its infotainment display has aged about as well as a Raytheon Radarange) but when surrounded by ivory-coloured leather and surfing an inimitable wave of V8 torque, you will not care. Moreover, this one has covered just 61k, so there’s an absurd amount of life left in yet. A steal at £12k.
Porsche Panamera Turbo, 2010, 75k, PH Auction
There are some really fast cars in this super six - and then there’s the Porsche Panamera Turbo. With 500hp from a 4.8-litre V8, a seven-speed PDK that’ll make the rest seem very old hat, plus all-wheel drive, it’s going to be monster quick in all scenarios. Once upon a time, this was capable of a four-second sprint to 62mph and 188mph, or still about as fast as a new 911. 15 years old or not, a ‘mere’ Turbo as opposed to the later Turbo S, this is going to feel seriously rapid. In fact, this Panamera, currently being auctioned on PH and finishing in a few days, is equipped to be the perfect continent crusher, with the larger 100-litre tank, four-zone air-con and Bose sound. Serviced just a matter of weeks ago and with an MOT that runs into 2026, the Turbo is ready for whatever summer sojourn is in store. Next stop, autobahn…
Maserati Quattroporte GTS, 2009, 63k, £14,500
There will never be a deficit of sound, theatre, emotion, character, charm, passion - whichever term you want to associate with fast Italian cars - when a Quattroporte GTS is in your life. It would be fair to say that the Maserati four-door never quite captured the imagination prior to the introduction of the Ken Okuyama-designed fifth-generation car in 2004; certainly it hasn’t done so since, despite the retention of a V8. There was just something so right about how this QP looked, drove, sounded and made people feel. Early cars weren’t the best, with a slightly undernourished 4.2 and clunky automated manual, but the Maser came good in the end with the 4.7 V8 and torque converter auto - as found here. There’s a wealth of main dealer history (though it will probably want a service), and still looks absolutely glorious. As it always will.
Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG, 2008, 62k, £14,490
AMG was understandably proud of its first ground-up engine for Mercedes, the 6,208cc M156 V8. Benz itself was very keen on it as well. So between the two brands, they ensured that barely a month seemed to pass at the end of the '00s without another weird and wonderful ‘63 derivative being announced. The engine worked best in sportier stuff, revving beyond 7,000rpm in CLKs and SLSes, but there was just about enough torque to wedge it into old-school ‘bahnstormers as well. So that’s what they did. Prior and subsequent S-Class AMGs were forced induction, though for a brief and fabulous period the S63 was powered by the 6.2. With 525hp made at 6,800rpm, it was an unforgettable (if unlikely) match-up. This one is low mileage, loaded to the gunwales with kit, and comes with a warranty. Let’s hope you don’t need it…
Bentley Turbo R, 1991, 101k, £15,495
Enough with all that new school nonsense; let's end with some good old-fashioned British decadence. A six-and-three-quarter litre V8 makes this Bentley 500cc larger than even the Mercedes, the leather makes all the other hide seem like vinyl, and there must be more wood here than the rest combined: just look at those picnic tables. And those sidewalls, for that matter - finding more 255/65 R15s (!) could be tricky, but just imagine how good the ride will be on tyres this plump. The Turbo R - that’s ‘R’ for ‘Roadholding', of course - was a long-lived and very popular Bentley, with more than 7,000 sold across a dozen years. This 1991 example looks sumptuous in Brewster Green over Champagne, and the history file is said to be ‘bulging.’ The MOT history is nearly as green as the coachwork, plus there have been just three owners for more than 30 years. Some way to spend £15k.
Heart would love the QP, but the tyres are too low profile for it to be comfy, and the engine is not really suitable for a big car.
The Merc is similar in so far as the engine isn’t well suited to a barge too.
The A8 is interesting, but maintaining that W12 would scare me.
The Bentley looks beautifully kept and in stunning condition. If you kept that garaged and did limited miles, that’s got to be zero depreciation. Nice and simple to maintain too.
As a car to use everyday and keep ungaraged in the elements, the jag is a stand out winner. Low miles, full history, great condition, quite new, comfortable ride, and the cheapest car here. I’m very tempted to buy it now to be honest.
Strange, as they are a cracking car. So well built and full of kit.
I suppose if you wanted a big comfy exec saloon, S class is the default answer.
Certainly is here I think.
These will be doing 25+ppm just on fuel!
These will be doing 25+ppm just on fuel!
These will be doing 25+ppm just on fuel!
Strange, as they are a cracking car. So well built and full of kit.
I suppose if you wanted a big comfy exec saloon, S class is the default answer.
Certainly is here I think.
The driver said to me that they usually use the S class to be fair, but they couldn't get hold of them at the time for some reason, so they went with the A8 instead.
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