The Audi A6 is now in its fifth generation and like
its executive car rivals from BMW and Mercedes - Benz, the latest version continues to offer a taste of life in the luxury car leagues, with levels of refinement, driver assistance systems and technology to make you think twice about paying extra for larger saloons from the class above.
Not exact matches
Executives at GM have expressed frustration that comparisons of monthly U.S. sales results among
rival automakers are distorted by short - term discount programs, and by differences in strategy for selling vehicles in bulk to rental
car fleets.
Jean - Marc Gales, Lotus» chief
executive officer, said of the 3 - Eleven at Goodwood: «this new
car is a giant slayer, capable of embarrassing far more expensive
rivals.
It's unmistakably shorter than traditional
executive saloon
rivals such as the BMW 3 Series, Mercedes - Benz C - Class and even Audi's own A4 — but it's still the sort of three - box design that buyers of those
cars are keen on.
It might be the second time an Audi A5 Sportback has been launched, but this alternative hatchback take on the
executive car class still doesn't have many direct
rivals, with just the BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe for company.
If you aren't too hung up on your
car's badge, you could also take a look at the Kia Stinger, and there are plenty of traditional
rivals too, from
executive saloons including the BMW 3 Series, Jaguar XE and Mercedes C - Class, to newcomers like the Tesla Model S. With taut lines, a low roofline and Audi's trademark grille and headlights, the A5 Sportback can easily stand its ground in the looks department, and is arguably more desirable than the Audi A4 saloon it's based on.
The fact it's considerably more affordable to buy than quite a few of its chief
rivals is especially worthy of note, and its combination of a well - built interior, a great engine, a sound ride / handling balance and decent refinement levels only add more strings to this svelte
executive car's prominent bow.
As Infiniti has positioned the Q50 between the two
executive sedan classes size-wise (for reference, the 200 meters longer and shorter than a BMW 3 Series and 5 Series respectively), the
car is that bit more accommodating than many of its
rivals.
By the standards of the
executive car class, it's about on par with what a majority of
rivals offer, so there's nothing worth noting about its duration other than the warranty's pretty decent by industry standards.
To counter that, Lexus has updated its IS sedan, in order to give this compact
executive car the spindle grill teeth to sink into the mighty BMW 3 Series and Audi A4 (as well as more recent
rivals like the Jaguar XE and Cadillac ATS).