1 BMW M3/M4 COMPETITION
THE GOOD: Mighty straight-six; front axle’s never-give-up attitude; dreamy chassis balance
THE BAD: No manual; nearly 911 money now
THE UGLY: M3 Touring £85k new but changing hands for six figures
THE ONE TO BUY: The CS, if you were lucky enough to bag one of the 100 BMW brought here. Now available as an estate: rejoice!
GIANT TEST WINNER
2 BMW M5 COMPETITION
THE GOOD: An animal when you want it to be; reasonably urbane family transport when you don’t
THE BAD: Hard ride on Competition suspension; priced above £100k
THE UGLY: CS and Competition both off sale now
THE ONE TO BUY: Hurry, hurry. There are some new M5 Comps in stock on BMW’s website
3 MERCEDES-AMG S63
THE GOOD: V8 plus e-motor shows AMG can do a great performance hybrid, and in the most unlikely of places: a huge luxury saloon
THE BAD: Boot size suffers, and ride quality isn’t perfect
THE UGLY: It’s a pity this approach wasn’t applied to the new C63
THE ONE TO BUY: Two versions, both at £186k, one with more black trim
4 ALFA GIULIA QUADRIFOGLIO
THE GOOD: Charisma in spades, fantastic agility and almost as good as an M3 to drive
THE BAD: Emphasis on almost as good as an M3 to drive
THE UGLY: Flaky interior quality; infotainment still lags behind the best
THE ONE TO BUY: There’s just the one, wonderful, model from £78k/£800pcm
5 PORSCHE PANAMERA
