Irish Times best buys: Luxury cars

Will Tesla really and truly change the car market utterly? Many would say that it already has, and that the legend-creating Model-S is the car that all other motor makers are now scrambling to match. The era of the mass-market 500km-range electric car is not yet here, but the Model-S at least lit the blue touch paper… Handsome in a quiet way, with a spacious and high-tech interior (featuring that astonishing giant i-Pad-like centre console) the Model-S is good (but not actually great) to drive, but astonishingly quick, especially the headlining P90D model with its 'Ludicrous Mode' acceleration which can have the trousers off a Porsche 911 Turbo before its had time to let the clutch up. It can even be had with seven seats, and yes, the lower-power P80 models will go for a realistic 400km+ on a single charge. We can't quite have the full Tesla experience in Ireland yet - we have no official dealer and there is no fast-charging 'Supercharger' network, but such things are coming. All that remains to be decided is whether Tesla boss Elon Musk is the new Henry Ford or the new Preston Tucker…

Best buy: P90D with Ludicrous Speed upgrade from €POA. Prices start at €POA.

PCP packages start from €POA a month.

Read the review: Tesla Model S causing a big buzz

Also try: Mercedes-Benz S-Class

It’s not just the comfort. Well, it’s mostly the comfort because there are truly, not many cars that can out-comfy an S-Class. Even in standard wheelbase form, there is stretching room in the back and the seats are among the best things you’ll ever sit on, mobile or fixed. Long wheelbase models are closer to sumptuous and the Maybach (a trim level now rather than a stand-alone brand) is good enough to be considered alongside Rolls-Royce and Bentley. Or perhaps it would be better to say that they are good enough to be considered alongside the Maybach… The bog-standard (if that’s quite the right term…) 3.0 V6 diesel is fine, the plugin hybrid delightfully technical, the turbocharged 5.5 AMG V8 version pretty insane and the V12 a masterclass in refined hyper-aggression.

Best buy: S500e LWB from €114,350. Prices start at €108,350.

PCP packages start from €1,149 a month.

Yes, a Land Rover is a risky proposition from the point of view of long-term reliability, and for all of the efforts expended in Solihull in making this generation of Range Rover better built and more robust than its predecessors, the fact is that the Rangie is still no Lexus. It also has an interior which, thanks to being too plain and too ordinary at which to look, is simply not becoming of its vast price tag. And yet there are few, if any, cars which make you feel so darned good just for climbing aboard. That Top-Of-Mount-Eyrie view out across the flat plain of the bonnet, the incredibly good seats, the silence, the softly-softly ride quality, all are from the very top drawer. Cabin space is fine, and considerably better on the long wheelbase models, while boot space is simply huge. And there is no other car here that can stretch itself upwards on its air suspension and head out across tundra, savannah or just an average peat bog as can the Range Rover. It's still a very special car.

Best buy: Range Rover TDV6 Vogue from €143,600. Prices start at €124,300.

PCP packages start from €POA a month.

Not everyone loves the big Porsche four-door hatchback. Indeed there are those who absolutely hate it, complaining about its styling or its cramped rear accommodation. Ignore these people, for they are fools. The Panamera is actually one of Porsche’s best products. You can be sensible and get the 3.0 V6 diesel, which actually, oddly, might be the best Panamera to drive. Or you could go all eco-friendly and get the tech-happy plugin hybrid. Or you could just do it properly and get the 550hp Turbo S which is fast and powerful enough to distort gravity. Have fun making black holes… The interior is tight, but gorgeous and while the Panamera is at times unsettlingly broad across the flanks (you’ll not enjoy tight car parks at all) it is simply superb to drive, with great steering and astonishing brakes. Not sensible, but then that’s not the point at this level, is it?

Best buy: Panamera 3.0 S Hybrid from €114,306. Prices start at €114,306.

PCP packages start from €POA a month.

The great thing about big, expensive cars is that while they stay big, they don't stay expensive for long. Can you spell 'crippling depreciation?' Well, you'll need to because these things simply plummet in value and there's not better example than the previous-generation BMW 7 Series. A €100k+ car when it came out, you could now snap a 2009 version up for the same price as a new Nissan Qashqai. Now, there are risks - consider all electronic systems, and there are a lot, broken until proven functional, watch for blown turbos on the 3.0-litre diesel engine, sagging air suspension and try to track one down that's had a sedate life as a professional chauffeur car, with a stack of service history forms and every last receipt rubber-stamped. Don't take a risk with a less than complete service history, or you'll need to learn to spell 'second mortgage.'

Best buy: 2009 730d SE for circa €28,000