81
Kia Optima
Although the new Optima has kept much of the styling of the outgoing model, it's actually a vast improvement on what went before. The cabin has been given a serious going over and now has properly soft- touch materials which are getting close to VW-levels of touchy-feely quality. Space was never an issue, but it's improved and the boot is bigger. Most important of all, the somewhat high CO2 emissions of the old Optima have been reined in and it now sits in Band A3 with the 1.7 CRDI diesel engine. Impressively, power is actually up a bit to 141hp even though the CO2 has come down. It can also be had with a new seven-speed dual-clutch automatic that only nudges it up one tax band, which is another big improvement. Alan Partridge called the old Optima "the Korean Jaguar" and while it's not perhaps quite that good, it's a decent four-door family saloon.
Best buy: 1.7 CRDI Platinum
Price range: €27,950 to €34,450
CO2 emissions range: 116 to 120g/km
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82
Mini Countryman
The Countryman is the ugly duckling of the Mini range, but you'll forgive much of its styling when you see what's inside. What's inside is way more cabin space than you ever thought possible in a car with a Mini badge, and way more rear seat space than you get in most rival small crossovers. The good news is that the Countryman has been given the same (or at least similar) sharp steering and chassis balance as the rest of the Mini line-up, so it's actually pretty good fun to drive. The 1.6 diesel engine is just fine, if a bit aged in its design. The 2.0-litre SD diesel brings some seriously strong performance, but the petrol Cooper and Cooper S will just be too thirsty in everyday use. It is pretty expensive too, with a lengthy options list that can send the price tag spiralling.
Best buy: 1.6d Cooper
Price range: €24,890 to €47,110
CO2 emissions range: 111 to 175g/km
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83
Ford Kuga
We do tend to forget about the Kuga, but the fact is that it has proved a big improvement over the original model. Certainly, it's bigger by far inside, sharper to drive and has a much better balance of performance, economy and emissions. Flip the back seats down and you have van-like loading room, while the steering is almost uncommonly sharp for an SUV. Indeed, it's probably the only one to give a Mazda CX-5 a run for its money in the handling stakes. Ford has just introduced a new version of the Kuga, with more equipment and a price cut, so that may serve to stir up some more interest in an unjustifiably overlooked car.
Best buy: 2.0 TDCI Titanium Plus
Price range: €28,595 to €41,430
CO2 emissions range: 120 to 140g/km
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84
Toyota Avensis
Another model that received a heft update in 2015, the Avensis is recognisably the car it used to be, but under the structure it's almost all-new. The biggest change is actually also the most disappointing aspect of the car – Toyota has bought in 1.6 diesel engines from BMW and they're a bit lacklustre. Better to upgrade to Toyota's own 2.0 D4D engine really. The cabin looks rather similar to how it used to, and suffers from the same slightly awkward relationship between the seat and the steering wheel, but it's beautifully made and very spacious. Handling is better than you would think, with lots of front-end grip but slightly distant steering. While it's never going to be a car to drive for fun, the Avensis should nonetheless give years of solid family service.
Best buy: 2.0 D4D Luna
Price range: €25,595 to €35,430
CO2 emissions range: 108 to 144g/km
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85
Audi R8
Reinvented but without the sonorous 4.2 V8 that made the first-gen R8 such a star. Now, all you can buy is the hard-hitting 5.2-litre V10, which with 600-odd horsepower is pretty addictive, but we're really waiting for Audi to unleash the all-electric e-Tron version. That, with its 400km one-charge range and storming performance, could well be even more of a supercar game-changer than the hybrid BMW i8. In the meantime, we guess the humble V10, with its spine-tingling soundtrack and surprising levels of everyday usability, will just have to do.
Best buy: V10 Plus (or wait for the e-Tron)
Price range: €231,500 to €263,000
CO2 emissions range: 272 to 287g/km
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86
Ford C-Max
It's very, very hard to make a compact MPV look or feel exciting in any way, and to be honest, Ford doesn't really seem to have bothered here. The C-Max is better to drive than you might expect, but inside and out it's a bit of a bore on the styling front. Perhaps excitement would be expecting too much. The updated 120hp 1.5 TDCI diesel engine is a bit of a find though – much smoother and with significantly more mid-range grunt that earlier versions of this engine. The boot's pretty massive too, but it seems at the expense of rear seat space on the five-seat version. Seven-seat Grand C-Max is a better choice, and has the bonus of sliding reardoors.
Best buy: Grand C-Max 1.5 TDCI Zetec
Price range: €25,855 to €35,000
CO2 emissions range: 105 to 129g/km
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87
Ford Galaxy/ S-Max
An all-new Galaxy arrived in 2015, but you'd be forgiven not for noticing as its styling is so similar to that of the old one. Underneath though, it's all new, with the chassis and engines from the new Mondeo and more space and more versatility in the cabin. The recipe is much as before though – barn-like cabin, seven seats and a few small luxury touches which this time around include electric folding for the rear seats and Ford's new SYNC2 touchscreen. To be honest though, the Galaxy is probably best left to the airport taxi fleets – the slightly more affordable S-Max is once again basically the same car underneath, but mildly better looking, a little better to drive and only fractionally less spacious than the Galaxy.
Best buy: S-Max 2.0 TDCI Titanium
Price range: €35,960 to €55,589
CO2 emissions range: 129 to 189g/km
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88
Audi Q7
While other luxury 4x4s feel big, the Q7 is just properly monstrous and feels it. Never mind that Audi trimmed around 300kg from the weight in the switch from MkI to MkII Q7, this one has once again clearly been designed with the American market in mind. It's massive. Mind you, size plays dividends and once again there are seven seats (with space slightly at a premium in the third row) and an utterly gorgeous cabin that successfully mixes and matches parts and styling from the TT and the next-gen A6 and A8. Quality levels are, as you'd expect, off-the-scale good and the 3.0-litre TDI V6 engine is surprisingly light on emissions and thirst. It just always feels like the big bus that it is though, and lacks the charm of Volvo's rival XC90.
Best buy: 3.0 V6 TDI SE quattro
Price range: €72,125 to €89,190
CO2 emissions range: 150 to 179g/km
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89
Ariel Nomad
Ariel is one of those car makers that defies both description and logic. Its vehicles mostly look like ambulatory piles of scaffolding, you can't have a windscreen and the engines are just tweaked Honda units. It all sounds a bit mad. And then you try one and you see what all the fuss is about. The Nomad is Ariel's maddest and best idea yet – take inspiration from the none-lighter Atom sports car and turn it into a rear-drive off-road buggy, that just also happens to be road legal. With massive torque from an Accord 2.4 engine, next to no weight and tyres chunkier than a Kit Kat Chunky, the Nomad is a recipe for fun on pretty much any surface, in any situation. Glorious madness.
Best buy: Only the one version for now
Price range: €POA
CO2 emissions range: n/a
90
Rolls-Royce Ghost
BMW has done a remarkable job of taking on the Rolls- Royce brand and running it. Where so many other great motoring names have been run into the ground, and others prostrated upon the alter of increased sales, Rolls has been a paragon of rectitude. Its cars are designed and built the way the customers like them to be, not the way fashion dictates. Take the Ghost – yes, it's lower and sleeker than is the Rolls tradition, and there is a lot of BMW 7 Series under the skin, but it rides with the sort of imperious aloofness that you want it to, it handles with disdain for both sportiness and physics and it is so hushed within that you'll be able to hear your Rolex ticking. Expensive? Certainly, but also worth more than the sum of its parts.
Best buy: V12 Ghost standard wheelbase
Price range: POA
CO2 emissions range: 327g/km