What Car? Q&A - What's the quietest car?

Q: I travel long distances on business and with my family, so I'm looking for a car with the quietest cabin I can find for less than £75,000. What hushed, four-door cars would you recommend - and are there any published statistics on noise levels?
Witney King

A: Unfortunately, we don't record any statistics on cabin noise. This is because rolling noise levels are susceptible to variations in road, wind and weather conditions, so aren't a fair way to compare cars. There are plenty of super-quiet cruisers for well under £75,000, though.

At the bottom end is the Jaguar XF 2.7D V6 Luxury. It costs £33,900, and we like it so much we made it our Car of the Year for 2008.

For a similar price, the Lexus GS 300 SE (Multimedia pack) is also a quiet cruiser, and if you haggle hard you should be able to get one for £2500 less than the list price of £38,000.

Our most expensive suggestion is the Mercedes S-Class 320 CDI, which costs £55,022 (£52,177 with a bit of haggling), and is our favourite luxury car.

It's also worth pointing out that much cheaper cars are becoming almost as hushed as their more luxurious rivals. Starting at £19,995, the Citroen C5 in Exclusive trim comes with acoustic laminated side windows as standard, so it's a remarkably quiet long-distance cruiser.