The Mercedes-Benz S-Class has a range of fuel-efficient engines and lower carbon-dioxide emissions than competitors helps make it a steadfast choice for high-mileage drivers who want to travel in something effortlessly upmarket. The plug-in hybrid option also makes this offering more appealing to money-conscious drivers.

Inside, every S-Class offers masses of space for four- or five passengers, depending on which seating configuration you prefer. Every S-Class also gets Magic Body Control, a clever suspension system that scans the road ahead for bumps and potholes, and adjusts the suspension accordingly. There’s plenty of other tech inside, including a large widescreen infotainment set-up as standard. 

Some might find that the approach of the S-Class misses the drama of a Maserati or the brawn of a Bentley, but the S-Class earns its accolades through being a relentlessly good all-rounder.

The Audi A8 is big, comfy and packed with technology. It had major plans to topple the class-leading Mercedes-Benz S-Class, and that’s precisely what it did. Well, almost.

The Audi A8 prevents potholes and exterior noises from ruining the calm for those inside the car: it’s one of the smoothest-riding and most refined luxury cars there is. That more than makes up for the fact that the Audi doesn’t handle so well as rivals.

The engines are smooth and powerful, the efficiency figures look good, especially on the clever plug-in hybrid version, while all the other ownership costs stack up well, too. It’s more sensible than the Range Rover Velar and is packed with technology.

With a genuine sense of luxury inside, a beautifully smooth ride and excellent engines, the Volvo S90 is one impressive premium saloon that offers a genuine alternative to the usual four-door suspects.

The stylish Scandinavian design is what makes this car feel like a different breed of car to rivals, yet all the necessary quality and features - like the huge touchscreen - are present and correct. And, as it’s a Volvo, there’s also a huge range of safety kit fitted, including a semi-autonomous driving system. This matches the speed of the car ahead, keeps you in lane and will even slow to a complete stop before accelerating back up to the selected speed, all without you doing anything.

The S90 is good value in the used market - it's no longer offered new, but it isn’t as adept at being thrown into corners as a BMW or Porsche might be. However, for many, the S90’s relaxing ride will be all the draw you need to put your money into one.

The premium BMW X5 SUV offers the space and practicality that families require, while also appealing to buyers who want luxury and an engaging driving experience to boot. It’s an impressive feat, and one that makes the X5 an excellent option.

Inside, there’s no shortage of luxury and connectivity, including various driver assistance systems and autonomous tech. The cabin layout can look cluttered, especially compared directly with the Audi Q7 or A8, which keep everything simple and easy to use. But, it comes out on top when it comes to usability, and you'll also love its sporty handling.

Most versions of the X5 come equipped with air suspension, with different driving modes to tailor the ride to suit what type of driving you're doing. It's brilliantly judged, too: soft and cosseting in Comfort mode, it'll glide over bumps and potholes, almost totally isolating you and any passengers on board from the road's surface. Yet in Sportier modes, it feels very agile for such a large car.

The Audi Q7 is a brilliant SUV, offering generous amounts of room around each of its seven seats. When it comes to driving, Audi’s big SUV is also comfortable and quiet, making it the ideal family car for those who want a life of luxury on the go.

The best Q7s ride on air suspension, so check it has this fitted if you’re buying used. Another thing worth noting is that the interior quality will depend massively on what year the Q7 you’re looking at was built. Early versions of this generation of car had conventional knobs and buttons, while an infotainment screen popped up electrically out of the top of the dashboard. Post-2019, you get an additional infotainment screen that replaces those buttons and looks very cool, but the system is harder to use than the previous offering.

As for refinement, you hear very little in the way of road- and wind noise, even at high speeds. The engines are smooth and you get a lot of space with the Q7, too: it's more versatile than competing saloons. For an everyday luxury car, Audi’s biggest Q model is hard to beat.

The Porsche Macan. It’s pretty. It’s sporty. It’s a Porsche, after all. And a pretty big one at that. If you have the money to afford one, it’s also very close to being flawless. On the move, the Macan is nothing short of sublime, with tonnes of grip and wonderful balance from a rear-drive-biased 4WD system. And all in a more compact package than the Cayenne.

What’s more, the ride is comfortable enough for family car duties, and refinement is good enough to make long stints at the wheel an absolute pleasure. All the engines punch hard, with more and more oomph as you progress up the range, so performance levels are easily worthy of the Porsche badge.

The Macan might be one of Porsche’s more affordable models, but it doesn’t feel like a poor relation, with a wonderfully high-quality interior. However, priced against considerably roomier rivals, you’ll be spending much more for a less practical and less well-equipped model. For example, lane keep and lane change assistance are not provided as standard, which defies belief at this money.

We dubbed the new Range Rover “the ultimate luxury SUV” in our review, which makes it pretty clear that its inclusion in this list is a must. There’s the fabulous interior, an expanse of space for people and luggage, and it’s wonderful to drive.

And while the Range Rover oozes luxury, it’s also extremely capable off-road with a plethora of clever tech and systems to help you tackle almost any terrain, and it does so better than any of its rivals. That’s quite the combination.

There’s a range of mild hybrid engines, too, plus plug-in hybrid versions and there’s even a fully electric Range Rover now. That gives you plenty of choice, and hopefully better efficiency than previous generations of the car. Big, luxury SUVs don't get better than the Range Rover.

BMW has taken the 7 Series into the electric era, and done so in style with the BMW i7: this is an effortlessly luxurious, high-tech machine.

Rear-seat passengers are afforded vast amounts of space, and you can opt for a rear seat that reclines almost fully flat. Plus, the i7 is offered with BMW’s gigantic 31.3-inch 8K ‘Theatre Screen’, which folds down from the ceiling allowing those in the back to take in a movie.

There are plenty of party tricks and clever tech throughout the i7, but BMW hasn’t taken its foot off the gas when it comes to driving dynamics. It’s quiet and comfortable, but handles impressively for a large barge, and even the entry-level model offers 455PS and can do 0-62mph in 5.5 seconds. Opt for the top-spec M car, and it’ll pump out 659PS, which gets you to 62mph in just 3.7 seconds. Entertaining for the driver, less so for those in the rear seats.

Range is good, too, with an official figure of 387 miles for the Excellence trim, which will likely translate to a solid 320 miles on a single charge in the real world: that's London to Newcastle without needing a top-up.

The Rolls-Royce Phantom is, quite simply, the luxury car by which all others are judged. No other car puts comfort and refinement quite so far ahead of any other consideration, yet the huge saloon still manages to be very good to drive if you decide you don't to spread out in the opulent rear quarters.

Some might consider the Phantom an extravagance too far, but for those who use it as an office on wheels, the Rolls-Royce is as stress-free as it gets without buying a private jet.

This sort of elegance and comfort does come at a cost, however, so brace yourself to spend more than £400,000 for a new Phantom, and that's before you've gone down the rabbit hole of personalised options. Or, you could look to the used market where lightly used three-year old examples could save you a cool £250,000 compared to a new one.

If you have zero interest in driving yourself in a luxury car and simply want to be whisked from home to the office to the airport, the Lexus LM is your kind of car.

There is no mistaking the Lexus LM for anything else, though Volvo does have a rival in the pipeline. It's MPV-alike proportions dish up vast amounts of passenger space, especially if you opt for the two rear seat version rather than the seven-seater model. In two-seat form, it's more akin to sitting in first class on a long haul flight as you have a widescreen television, reclining chairs, and every possible gadget to pamper you.

Up front, the driving experience is a lot more mundane, though the ride quality is excellent. The four-cylinder petrol-hybrid engine may be good for economy, but refinement is far from the best in this class, not helped by a CVT (continuously variable transmission) gearbox that can whine and whirr when asked to assist with decent acceleration.

You'll also need a seat in those comfy rear chairs when you find out the LM costs from £90,000.