Small cars that drive like luxobarges

[TazLondon]

For those who don't need the space offered by large luxury barges like the BMW 7-Series, Merc S-Class or Jag XJ but still want the serene 'magic carpet' ride quality, which smaller cars get close to such a ride quality?

I'm talking about a lack of road noise in the cabin, a wafting sensation, hushed fast progress (mile-munching ability), ability to deal with poor road surfaces effortlessly and a premium cabin interior with lots of toys - all within the body of a smaller family-sized car.

[TazLondon]

Thinking 3-Series/Mondeo sized cars - so fair practicality but not acres of unused space when 90% I'll be the only one in the car.

[TazLondon]

carreauchompeur said:

AM cygnet?

LOL. Has anyone every bought one???

[TazLondon]

Quhet said:

How about something French like a C5 or 508?
I've not been in them but I'd imagine they're set up for comfort rather than for handling...

I had a C5 a few years ago - fantastic ride quality but the affair short-lived as it suffered from massive reliability issues and the interior was fairly cheap-looking.

[TazLondon]

With smaller cars there's a focus on making them sporty so the ride is often too harsh. I'm a bit wary of Citroen as a brand from a quality and reliability point of view.

The Lexus IS350h is very slow in terms of performance but could be a serious contender as it ticks the boxes of a premium cabin.

The Merc C350e is an interesting option as it ticks all the boxes. It's quite pricey when specced up though.

[TazLondon]

One of the things that makes a luxobarge is the automatic transmission. Sadly, in smaller cars this is harder to find or not even an option at all.

[TazLondon]

It's a shame the French don't make premium-segment cars any more. I appreciate that a C3 or C4 might provide a good wafty ride, but the interior is going to be fairly utilitarian. Gone are the days of the XM, C6, Vel Satis etc.

[TazLondon]

Nickbrapp said:

The c5 and ds5 are both sublime cars as is the Peugeot 408, may be in class below

I read some reviews on the DS5 and they don't appear to be great! But I'd be interested in real-world experiences. I priced one up at well over £40K on the Citroen Configurator site!

[TazLondon]

Fascinating reading all the opinions in this thread.

What about a Jaguar XE? Any opinions on whether that would tick the boxes (SWoll mentioned it earlier)? From the reviews I've read it's a tad 'more cosy' in cabin space that a BMW 3-Series.

[TazLondon]

Very impressed with my local Jag dealership. Downloaded brochures for the XE last night and got a call this morning to set up a test drive for an XE Portfolio next weekend.

I'll report back to this thread on how the test drive goes.

[TazLondon]

I test drove a Jaguar XE today and was quite impressed. It was the 163bhp 2.0 litre diesel engined one. In terms of ride quality it was spot on. Surprisingly, kick-down for overtaking was impressive.

A couple of let-downs though: the diesel clatter was very noticeable and there was some tyre noise intrusion into the cabin. Also the soundproofing wasn't that great as you could hear other traffic very easily on a busy A-road at 50mph.

But I couldn't fault the ride quality. The size was perfect for me, but I'd struggle to live with the level of noise intrusion into the cabin.