Every one of these four cars you see on this page has a long list of specifications one that runs into multiple chapters. They have to meet a wide range of objectives that not only pander to typical European tastes, but address an increasingly global audience. They must have the right image and looks, superb performance and driving pleasure, great comfort, decent economy and also come packed with all sorts of gizmos and safety features. These cars are expected to cope with everything short of doing your laundry.
For the Indian market, however, not all of those objectives hold the same importance. Unlike the BMW 3-series or Mercedes C-class segment, this neck of the woods is predominantly chauffeur-driven, with back seat comfort and the image the car projects dominating the demand list. Performance, driving pleasure, refinement and technical gizmos are equally important as they provide the bond owners eventually have with their car. What skews tastes in this part of the market is the high percentage of grey in the collective hairdos of the owners, these people are usually stinking rich, not prone to stinking rich, not prone to stinting, and demand the ultimate in refinement. Nothing of course is as silent and as refined or as powerful, fast and rev-happy as a finely fettled petrol motor. And many of these gentlemen will have nothing whatsoever to do with a diesel.
So these are the customers and here are the cars. Is its surprise that three of them are German? Not in the least. German brands dominate the luxury car market but they aren’t clones of each other. Far from it. Each brand has a different may sometimes overlap but they all peddle their own blend of luxury, comfort and dynamic ability with a lot of passion and attitude. And now there is Volvo, the Swedish carmaker that today belongs to Ford. Until now, Volvo in India is only known for its buses and trucks and is an unknown for its buses and trucks and is an unknown brand n this part of the market where snob value matters a lot. That the S80 has its work cut out in such august company there is no doubt but its no-nonsense and honest character is what the company hopes will appeal to the hearts and wallets of customers.
DESIGN & ENGINEERING
Can four luxury cars look so different, with not even one design theme carried over? Thank your stars they can, and they are. The rakish BMW 5-series is easily the most aggressive design of the lot here. German metal has come a long way from being staid, predictable and boring. The Chris Bangle-shaped 5-series with its sharply creased lines, eagle-eye headlights and Dracula-cloak skinning may not o down well with everyone but you can’t help but notice it. From the rear, the 5-series is attention-grabbing as well, its confident stance and wide shoulders a clue to its athleticism. The other new kid on the block is Volvo, earlier known for design that resembled shoeboxes. But the S80 has come long way since. Though it still has the characteristic robust and square shouldered stance that characterless the brand, it is the car’s understated elegance and class that we loved,. The prominent bonnet V and the chunky rear section all spell Volvo.
The A6 is unmistakable with the now-familiar Audi ‘Bulgarian beard’ – the big grille stretching all the way down to the chin spoiler. The high-mounted twin-barred lamps and smoothened nose give it an air of sophistication. This look is complemented buy the uncluttered lines that this marque is known for.
The E-class Merc seems almost too familiar and that’s because it’s the oldest car ib this quartet. It received a face-lift in 2006 but the changes were very minor. The four-pontoon headlight theme had been used by Merc for the last decade and this sometimes has a negative effect as laymen cannot tell the difference between models. Still, this more aggressive interpretation has its moments and you can’t help but admire the beautifully balanced, almost-perfect unison between the four headlamps. There’s no doubt the E-class still looks classy.
Under the skin it’s the BMW and the Merc that follow the classic front-engine rear-wheel-drive layout, the same as pioneered by the Mercedes Simplex back in 1902. Both use highly sophisticate fully independent suspension but the engineering philosophy is different, The BMW is heavily biased towards driving dynamics and everything in the chassis as designed to achieve as close to the perfect 50:50 weight distribution. Like other cars in this segment, the E-class uses aluminum suspension parts to cut down its weight. The four-link MacPherson strut up front and the multi-link arrangement at the rear do a great job in isolating you from the road while you waft along at speed. The E-class received an updated agility package with the facelift, specifically a quicker-acting steering, which of course the BMW does not need.
The Audi and the Volvo also use fully independent suspensions, but both send their drive to the front wheels, Audi's four-wheel-drive Quattro is not available on this car. The Audi holds its V6 longitudinally in its belly, the Volvo using a transversely-mounted straight six, both odd but apparently well engineered solutions. Audi needs it for the rear-wheel-drive part of the Quattro equation and Volvo mounts all of its motors in this manner as it is apparently safer during a crash. Trust Volvo to do what's safest.
The longest car here is the 530i and the heaviest the S80. All use ESP or stability control, the BMW also has Cornering Brake Control (CBC) which gives maximum braking to the wheel which has the most grip.
Other bits of NASA tech that will blow your socks off include aluminium suspension bits and radar-guided cruise control. All four luxury cars also have India-spec suspension, which is a combination of reworked dampers and increased ride heights as part of their rough road packages.
Of the four cars, the Volvo is the only one that isn't assembled in India, the car being directly imported. Yes, even Audi now assembles here at the Skoda plant in Aurangabad. BMW, of course, assembles the 5-series at its plant in Chennai.
INTERIORS
Few cars can match these Germans for interior quality class or design individuality, and these three are at the top of their game. The 5-series is one of the best designs, one that looks stunning even in dull black. It oozes quality, the soft-feel dashboard and uncluttered design lending class. Everything works with solidly with a built-to-Iast feel. Some of the buttons and knobs though are too small and don't feel as meaty to grip as we would have liked. Also, the iDrive controller takes some time to figure out.
The electronic select-by-wire gear stick is a joy to use. We love the way you can flick it into 'park' at just the touch of a button. Instrument clusters don't get clearer than this. The white-on-black dials not only look excellent but are very easy to read as well.
The BMW's front seats are huge and fully powered but lack lumbar adjustment and height-adjustable seatbelts are missing as well.
Step into the Audi cabin and you can see a different design philosophy. The dashboard is very orderly, well laid out and is dominated by a screen that houses most of the MMI (Multi Media Interface) functions. It is a bit confusing at first but once you get the hang of the rotary switch that works in conjunction with the buttons around it, it's quite easy to navigate through the vast menu.
Overall cabin quality is good, but some plastic bits like around the door handle and the mirror adjust switch look particularly tacky. The front seats with full power adjustment are comfortable and, though not as generous as the 5-series, hold you better. It's probably thanks to the extendable thigh support and Alcantara leather, a first for a car in India. The A6's trump card is its features - it comes loaded with a reversing camera with trajectory assist, fully adjustable dampers that even lift the car's ride height and even radar-based Adaptive Cruise Control, which recognises that there is a car in front and automatically slows down the car! And it works like a treat.
The E280 feels the oldest on the inside. The dashboard design is functional and full of buttons, and there is a reason for this. Merc has no menu-driven screen-based system like Audi or BMW. Cabin quality is still great and except for the odd button, everything has a nice tactile feel. What lets the show down is a glaring lack of omissions, and the E-class in comparison to the Audi feels very Spartan. Forget about goodies like Parktronic or reversing cameras; the length adjust for the front seat is manual and leaving this out is actually rather cheap of Mercedes.
The Volvo cannot really keep up with the Germans with its interior. The design of the dash is very simple and minimalist but the wafer-thin centre console, which looks like it is floating, is unique and the buttons that direct air-flow are intuitive because they are shaped like a human figure. But even that is spoiled by what looks like a telephone operator's maze of buttons. Quite simply, the S80's interiors are too dull and lack the flair and sense of luxury of the other cars.
All of these cars have sufficient and similar amounts of legroom, and so it is things like thigh support, backrest bolstering and seat firmness that make a difference to the comfort equation.
What the Volvo has by the bucket load is comfort, very high levels of it. The front seats are soft and hugely comfortable and this is true of the rear seats as well, which have the feel of an oversized sofa.
The only other car that offers similar rear seat comfort is the E-class. The seats are supremely comfortable and the manner in which they stay in touch with your whole body is fantastic. The angle is perfect too. They do feel a touch stiff, especially in the area of the upper back, but this only proves to be a boon on drives that last more than 10 minutes, the Merc seats maintaining your posture the best. Adding to the comfort is the E-class special ability to isolate you from the rest of the world. The cabin is much better insulated than any of the competition and entering the Merc after any of the other cars is like putting on a pair of ear muffs. Even wind and road noise is well controlled, which makes all the difference.
The BMW and the Audi also have very comfortable rear seats, especially the Audi which comes quite close for comfort to the Merc. But the Audi is not as well insulated and the 5-series’ rear seat feels a little cooped up. Not for the lack of space, of which there’s plenty, but the huge front seatback and the high waistline which blocks your vision.
ENGINE, GEARBOX & PERFORMANCE
Two straight sixes, one creamy and one that snarls, versus two V6s that love to purr. The Audi V6 that love to purr. The Audi V6 uses new fangled and very complicated direct fuel injection, the Volvo is the only transversely-mounted motor and all the cars here use conventional automatic gearboxes except for the Audi. The Multitronic system used utiises a CVT with a metallic belt.
You can select sport or manual on the Merc, Audi and BMW, but the Volvo allows you only manual. And it’s slow. The Audi is the most fun to run up and down the gearbox in manual mode as it is the only on e that uses paddle shifts. Tellingly, it is also the one that pumps the most iron with a 255 rippling bhp.
The BMW is the Jesse Owens of the bunch, sprinting to 100kph in 7.95sec and 150kph in 16.35 seconds. The closest is the Audi, which takes 8.55sec to get to 100kph. Merc and Volvo are altogether more mature and don’t really seem to want to play the drag game. The Merc though isn’t slow, with the 100 coming up in 8.84 seconds.
BMW’s motor feel the most refined and flexible and has the best set of lungs. It pulls well in city traffic, but lacks the same urge and urgency low down that it possesses in the upper reaches of its powerband. Still, it is silky-smooth and loves to be revved hard, responding very strongly all the way to the redline – it’s a real thoroughbred. The auto ‘box lacks the solid feel of a conventional selector but once you get used to the trigger like feel, it is great to use. There’s no hydraulic shift; gear changes are made by electric motor and are much quicker.
The S80 is powered by a SI6 (short inline 6) straight six all-alloy unit-mounted transversely driving the front wheels. The dimensions are worthy of praise, especially when you realize that this six-cylinder unit is only 3mm longer than Volvo’s own five-cylinder diesel unit.
This straight six has a very sporty snarl and bottom end responses are very strong, making it a treat to drive in traffic. Overall performance is let down however by an inconsistent gearbox, which at times feels very quick and sometimes lethargic. This motor also seems to lack the oomph possessed by the others, meaning it doesn’t feel as quick, This may also be due to the fact that the Volvo is the heaviest car in this group, and that’s without having the rear-wheel-drive weight penalty suffered by the BMW and the Merc. Volvo has possibly put all that weight into extra safety.
The Audi feels light on its feet from the word go, and the Multitronic gearbox is an absolute treat. You can only tell it is not an automatic from a standing start as it lacks the step up of a torque converter. Nevertheless, performance in the midrange is pure dynamite, especially with the’ box in sport mode and the motor belting out 255bhp at upshifts. Gear changes are lightening-quick and the V6 has a wonderful, raspy exhaust note at full chat. This direct injection unit, however, flutters mildly at idle due to our low octane fuel and only smoothness up once loaded up past 3000rpm. It may not have the outright acceleration of the 5-sereis but clever gearing makes it the most drivable of all.
The Merc has the most refined and best insulated engine here. Power delivery at low speeds is smooth and silent, punch is good and it has everything you need in a luxury car motor. And then, when you pull it hard, it can deliver a fair bit in the performance department too.
In line with their relaxed characters, both the Merc and the Volvo have gearboxes that are not ideally suited to spirited driving but the unstressed nature of their powertrains will please many owners.
ON THE ROAD
On its massive 18-inch rims and 40-profile run flat tyres, the BMW is not the car to take when you have a bad back, or a headache, or even a poor tummy for that matter. It thumps and crashes over poor road sections at low speeds and sharp bumps can be jarring. All this for larger wheels that look better. We think BMW is going too low in its tyre profile for the Indian market, especially for its higher-powered petrol cars. And the stiff sidewalls of the run flat tyres only make this worse. You are always aware of what kind of surface you are driving on and every pimple is communicated back to the cabin. At high speeds and on long-wave undulations when the suspension takes over, the body control is phenomenal but the incredibly quick and scalpel-sharp steering makes the 5-series feel twitchy and takes getting used to. But find a series of corners and the pointy steering and brilliant chassis balance offer a driving experience none of the others can ever match. The problem is that such occasions are sadly far and few between.
The Volvo is the most pliant of all and has the best ride comfort but the soggy handling doesn’t entertain or encourage spirited driving. The light steering coupled with the pliant suspension makes it ideal for town but it does get caught out by sharp bumps which thump through. Again, this is more a function of the 50 profile tyres which degrades the secondary ride and you sometimes hear a loud metallic thunk. Overall ride comfort is good, even though it feels a touch nose heavy and bobs more than the others on undulating roads at high speeds.
The Audi, with its adjustable dampers, has varying levels of ride comfort. The 'comfort' setting works best for most purposes but even on its softest setting the suspension isn't as settled as the Merc's. Remarkably, the A6 doesn't feel nose-heavy like previous Audis and it is amazingly agile with a huge talent to change direction quickly. Audi's decision to go down the electro-hydraulic route for its speed-sensitive power steering makes it super-light but it's devoid of the feel and lacks the crispness of the E-class's helm, leave alone the 5-series. The good thing with the adjustable suspension is that you can raise the ride height by 3cm which is perfect for our conditions and speed breakers.
In terms of ride quality, the E-class wins easily, even without adjustable dampers. Ride is super-pliant and the E's taller 55 profile tyres give it cushioning just not available to others. Bumps are swallowed up noiselessly, the edges of large craters are rounded off well and the E genuinely surprises you with the amount it can absorb at times. Like the Volvo, the E-class isn't sharp enough to stay with the Audi on twisty roads and simply lacks the more chuckable balance the BMW and Audi possess. The turn-in is much sharper now but the overall handling remains benign and vice free. Drive it back to back with the BMW and you come away feeling numb.
The brakes of all cars are stupendous but it is the 5-series that has the best stopping power.
Fuel Efficiency
There's a 0.5kpl difference in the overall fuel efficiency between the most and the least fuel-efficient car here. That's how close these cars here. Yes, they are big one-and-half tonne cars with a 3-litre engines, and yes they all cost upwards of 40-lakh, so fuel efficiency should not be as much of a concern right? The BMW is the most fuel efficient with an overall figure of 7.21kpl and the Merc and the Audi coming back to the pumps with matching figures of 6.75kpl. The Volvo gave us 6.8kpl.