RE: Vote for the best saloon of the last 25 years!

[E90_M3Ross]

British Beef said:

Simple recipe: V8 NA engine, manual gearbox, rear wheel drive, with good understated but muscular looks.... has to be the E39 M5 !!

E90 M3?

[AddyT.]

I knew before reading the comments it will predictably be a BMW that wins. From the first few comments looks like that will be the outcome. In some articles this site is like being on a BMW fan club page. How boring. BMW’s really arent the be all and end all….

[sparks 15]

Evo 9
Evo 6
Vxr8
For my votes 🗳

[Mannginger]

AddyT. said:

I knew before reading the comments it will predictably be a BMW that wins. From the first few comments looks like that will be the outcome. In some articles this site is like being on a BMW fan club page. How boring. BMW’s really arent the be all and end all….

Clearly they aren't as there's dozens of contenders on this list from different manufacturers. It does have to be said that BMW generally build a good fast saloon however, even if their competitors offer more drama, noise etc etc

[Leins]

AddyT. said:

I knew before reading the comments it will predictably be a BMW that wins. From the first few comments looks like that will be the outcome. In some articles this site is like being on a BMW fan club page. How boring. BMW’s really arent the be all and end all….

When it comes to a legacy of super saloons they kind of are though, especially if you throw the Alpina back catalogue into the mix too

[Csb-1]

Your list has an error in it. The B5 RS4 was not available as a saloon, it was only made in estate guise.

The B5 saloon only wen't as far as S4..

[Hairymonster]

E39 M5, Alfa QF, Maserati Quattroporte.

The last one may be a tough call, but I've always loved their elegance and style.

[Leins]

Csb-1 said:

Your list has an error in it. The B5 RS4 was not available as a saloon, it was only made in estate guise.

The B5 saloon only wen't as far as S4..

As Matt explains a couple pages back, and mentioned in the article, they’ve included the odd estate and “saloon-based” coupe

In saying that I would like to see a separate poll for the greatest estate, as I think a couple of Audis might feature close to the top (biased opinion here), but understand why they’ve done this

As an aside, and with the presumption that the E39 M5 will reign supreme here, options back in 2000 when you wanted something with a good few doors and getting on for 400bhp were limited. It’s since then that fast estates in particular have become more mainstream

[white_goodman]

AddyT. said:

I knew before reading the comments it will predictably be a BMW that wins. From the first few comments looks like that will be the outcome. In some articles this site is like being on a BMW fan club page. How boring. BMW’s really arent the be all and end all….

I don’t think it’s necessarily that clearcut at all. Remember you get up to 3 votes and they’re not ranked, so actually the high number of BMWs on the list could mean that a BMW does not win, as the votes are split between multiple models if there isn’t a strong consensus. E39 M5 seems like a strong contender so far and quite rightly so IMHO. The M5 pretty much defines the super saloon genre and the E39 was arguably the best of the bunch but if others prefer different M5 variants, then it could well slip down the rankings and open the door for something like the Alfa, which is a one-off. I think that the GR Yaris was a bit of a shock result for many in the hot hatch category, so it’s possible there might be another surprise result here. The E39 M5 did get one of my votes but I also voted for the X308 XJR, as I think it’s one of the best-looking saloons ever made and there’s something about the cabin ambiance of a Jag of that era that makes a contemporary Audi/BMW/Mercedes seem a bit “clinical”. The E39 M5 beats it “on paper” being 30bhp up but the Jag has that Supercharged torque and a lovely compliant setup, so I wonder whether in the real-world there would be much in it? The E39 M5 is more covetable/valuable but if I could only own one of them, I would genuinely struggle to choose between them.

[Fiestapop11]

It would have been interesting to see a Tesla Model S Plaid in there to see how many votes it would have got on being a PH type car as the vanguard of the next 25 years

And no. I would not have voted for it

[Csb-1]

Leins said:

As Matt explains a couple pages back, and mentioned in the article, they’ve included the odd estate and “saloon-based” coupe

In saying that I would like to see a separate poll for the greatest estate, as I think a couple of Audis might feature close to the top (biased opinion here), but understand why they’ve done this

As an aside, and with the presumption that the E39 M5 will reign supreme here, options back in 2000 when you wanted something with a good few doors and getting on for 400bhp were limited. It’s since then that fast estates in particular have become more mainstream

Thanks and apologies, I jumped straight to the list without seeing that in the article. I agree an estate only category would be good. They hold a special place for many on this site. For example, Volvo is not even on the list here, but would get recognised surely for fast estates..

[Gad-Westy]

Csb-1 said:

Leins said:

As Matt explains a couple pages back, and mentioned in the article, they’ve included the odd estate and “saloon-based” coupe

In saying that I would like to see a separate poll for the greatest estate, as I think a couple of Audis might feature close to the top (biased opinion here), but understand why they’ve done this

As an aside, and with the presumption that the E39 M5 will reign supreme here, options back in 2000 when you wanted something with a good few doors and getting on for 400bhp were limited. It’s since then that fast estates in particular have become more mainstream

Thanks and apologies, I jumped straight to the list without seeing that in the article. I agree an estate only category would be good. They hold a special place for many on this site. For example, Volvo is not even on the list here, but would get recognised surely for fast estates..

Yep. Shame to not separate out estates. I think it could have been quite interesting.

[JJJ.]

I haven't sat in half of them, never mind drive them.

Giulia QV.

IS-F.

Accord type R.

[Patrick Bateman]

There are a lot of BMW's in the mix for the same reason so many Evo Car of The Year awards have been dominated by Porsche.

[sparks 15]

A estate/ wagon list would be great.
Evo 9 wagon
Vxr8 wagon
Maybe a Bmw v8 manual to round the list off.

[cherryowen]

Having neither owned, driven, nor sat in any of the three I voted for, I based my selection on articles I've read over the years. That they mirror my "wantage" from the list provided may, or may not, be a coincidence.

E39 M5
Phantom
EVO VI

[cayman-black]

virtualm said:

Giulia QF - without a shadow of a doubt.

I bought one late '17 while working abroad without a test drive, saw the videos, read the reviews and just knew I had to have one. An amazing hero feeling of a car, chuck some PS4S on it and what a machine. Cold start valves open proper naughty in the winter, 3rd gear pull was immense, pops and bangs yes please. Standard seats to die for in terms of comfort and looks. And just look at it, even now it still looks flippin amazing. Let's not forget in 2017 the price was circa £63k, yet now 6 years later an M3 is close to £100k.... the world has gone mad.

Yup the dealers are rubbish, they'll never learn. But seeing how many awards the QF has won just says it all.

I miss is so much, but would have probably lost my license if I still had it.

For sure this will be a future classic.

Link here to my only Youtube cold start video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUEB6NEjhE8

So many Germans here, i,m sure they have never even sat in the QF other wise all the pages here would be choosing this car.

[JJJ.]

AddyT. said:

I knew before reading the comments it will predictably be a BMW that wins. From the first few comments looks like that will be the outcome. In some articles this site is like being on a BMW fan club page. How boring. BMW’s really arent the be all and end all….

I agree with you, even as an ex owner of several BMW's. But, it's understandable, basically BMW have produced cars to suit most peoples requirements, from the image conscience to the dire hard petrol head. Also, the used market is generally awash with BMW's making them very accessible, which in turn makes them potentially good valve. A top notch E39 M5 at £20k looks good value to me in this day and age.

I'd be very surprised if one of the M cars doesn't take the first slot even if it wouldn't be my choice.

Edited by JJJ. on Tuesday 28th March 09:46

[lotus116tornado]

I went

Alpina B3 G20
XJR 5.0 V8
Evo VI

[Scoobysaurus]

Having had one for the last 25 years, I think I’ll vote for the GC8 Impreza. These really were game changing like the Elise was. The Yaris has successfully copied what Subaru did 25 years ago and people are raving about them. It would be a travesty to award the Yaris and miss the contribution the Impreza made.