What Car? Q&A - What car would you recommend?

Q: I own a Saab 9-5, but want to change it for a car with a smoother ride.

Are there any cars that offer a smooth ride these days? My budget is around £28,000 and I don’t need to be able to corner at break-neck speeds. I don't really want one of the obvious German choices.
Steven Utton

A: First on our list for you would be the Lexus GS, which is incredibly refined and quiet. It's certainly not as fun to drive as a BMW 5 Series, but as you say, that doesn't bother you. The Lexus is also likely to be more reliable than any other, but you might have to stretch your budget or work extra hard at getting a discount – our Target Price starts at £29,477.

Another car to consider is the Jaguar S-type. It’s expensive to run and headroom’s tight in the back, but it offers a fine ride. Target Prices start at under £25,000.

For a real leftfield option you might want to take a look at the Citroen C6, but beware its very poor resale values. You can get a C6 that's only done 6000 miles for more than £10,000 less than its original list price, so be warned or buy used.

The Citroen is at its best on the motorway as far as comfort goes, and if you want something different to the German brigade it really doesn't come more different than this.