Quietest motorway cruiser

[Pulse00]

What's the quietest motorway cruiser that you owned/been in? By quiet I mean 'well noise insulated' from the engine/transmission, road and wind noise. A little tranquillity.

Budget is 10-15k BUT I'm still interested in your experiences outside of this budget!

Thanks

[mholt1995]

I've been completely spoiled by my A4 (B9).

1.4 Petrol Engine
Comfort suspension
17 inch wheels

6th gear at 70 does about 2400RPM, I imagine the automatic does even fewer rpm. Gets a bit loud after 3K RPM but for sedate motorway cruising it is serene. They're coming into your budget as well.

Only reason I'm not keeping mine after the lease ends is because it's not an auto, I'm not a massive fan of a manual transmission in a car where otherwise the character is relaxed, quiet and comfy cruising.

[sjc]

Believe it or not a 2001 V6 Rover 75 pre project drive on small wheels had the best NVH levels of pretty much anything I’ve owned or driven.Tiff Needell drove it and agreed how good it was in those areas.

[AmitG]

Lexus LS600h.

It's like a library in there, even at 80mph.

[Superleg48]

AmitG said:

Lexus LS600h.

It's like a library in there, even at 80mph.

+1

Most things from Lexus are very very quiet at cruise.

[ninjag]

Mercedes GLE 350 was very quiet on the motorway but very jittery. Jaguar very quiet, I think it even has extra bulkhead and underfloor insulation.

[Patch1875]

I had brand new polo last week as it courtesy car couldn’t believe how quiet that was on the motorway!

[ZX10R NIN]

The quietest i've been in is an S Class but with the Lexus a close second the surprising one in third for me was this:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[Pica-Pica]

Patch1875 said:

I had brand new polo last week as it courtesy car couldn’t believe how quiet that was on the motorway!

What engine?

[kieranblenk]

One of the best "normal" cars I've ever experienced for excellent NVH was believe it or not, my old 58 plate Fiat Bravo 1.6 Multijet Dynamic. There was next to no wind noise and the engine was fantastic for a diesel being torquey, quiet and exceptionally refined sitting at 6th on the motorway returning nearly 60mpg.

The seats were very comfy too and the ride was decent, even if the low nose caused a few squeaky bum moments on speed bumps. My dad had a 13 plate 320d at the time and it was much louder at motorway speeds compared to the Fiat.

In terms of big, luxury cars I was very impressed with the full fat RR Vogue I rode in as a passenger a couple of years ago. I also can vouch for the Rover 75 being excellent as another poster already suggested.

[kieranblenk]

Patch1875 said:

I had brand new polo last week as it courtesy car couldn’t believe how quiet that was on the motorway!

My mam recently got one of these in 1.0 TSI R-Line flavour and it is very good as a cruiser for a small car. It runs rings round my Fabia.

[Aiminghigh123]

Patch1875 said:

I had brand new polo last week as it courtesy car couldn’t believe how quiet that was on the motorway!

You must have driven some loud cars.

I have driven new golfs, polos, fiestas and focuses. I wouldn’t rate any of them quiet on a motorway run and both polo and fiestas have a dull drone which gets tiresome after 2 hrs. My banger Saab is quieter.

When getting long distance taxis for work Mercedes e and s classes are sublime.

[kurt535]

NOT a 535d; i loved the twin turbos too much....

[mike9009]

I haven't driven many luxo-barges so I am probably not the best barometer for quietness. But I find my E92 330i SE BMW very refined and quiet even at 12 years old. No wind noise, the engine is barely audible at 70mph and no rattles makes for a quiet ride.

(However compared to my 'other; vehicles it is probably not surprising!


Mike

[Patch1875]

Pica-Pica said:

Patch1875 said:

I had brand new polo last week as it courtesy car couldn’t believe how quiet that was on the motorway!

What engine?

1.0 I think. It said it had 95bhp.

[Mr Tidy]

In terms of cars I've owned, I've been pleasantly surprised by my 2006 BMW E91 325i Touring - it's so much quieter than the E46 it replaced!

Very high-geared too - 70 mph is just 2,400 rpm in 6th.

But the quietest I've ever been in has to be an S-Class Mercedes. Better than a 7 Series, Audi A8 or Range Rover - but I haven't been in a Lexus!

[Shiv_P]

New D5 A8 for me. Had a ride in comparable S class and S class was very close but not quite as quiet. 7 series was "terrible" (not nearly as good but still comfortable of course)

[tickedon]

Another vote for a Audi A4. 2.0TDI with DSG for me - sits at 1500rpm at 70mph in seventh. Well insulated and the quietest car I’ve been in or owned.

[Summit_Detailing]

Phantom 8 or for those in the real world - an S-class...one of the reasons why I bought one.

I've not been in the latest Lexus LS but the old LS430 was very good.

cheers,

Chris

[flibbage0]

Outside of big saloon cars I would say Volvo V60 the D3/D4/D5 variants, all are 5 cylinder

I've got one and it sits at 1750RPM at 70mph