Purchasing automobiles today can prove an exciting event. Exciting in that there’s so much on offer. The selection in South Africa over the last 10 years or so has exploded from around 400 to some 1300. But more obvious than ever is the sophistication level of the products especially when it comes to engine, transmission and suspension layout.

It was not long ago that twin-cam engines were uncommon, especially in production V8s that were either SOHC or even OHV. Bigger high performance saloon cars were mostly found in the BMW range while Merc’s cars built were seemingly built with heavy engineering in mind and little to gladden the heart of enthusiasts. Thankfully BMW was around.

Things have changed and a glance at our four participants well indicates this. If it were possible to have presented the same four in a shootout say ten years ago, readers would certainly have imagined that Star Wars had landed on earthling domain. And because we have one of these as a long-term test car - the Audi A6 4.2 V8 with its competition-developed quattro concept – we decided to put it up against three other chosen rivals to indicate the strides made over that time. To this end we chose Merc’s swoop-shaped E500 that no longer resembles a barge with a barge-like engine and now powered by a refined, high-revving V8 quad-cam engine with the performance of a Star Wars fighter; the quadcam V8 Volvo S80 with an all-wheel-drive transmission; and naturally, a BMW - this one in the guise of the 550i with a state of the art Valvetronic 5-litre V8 quadcam mill. And when you add the automatic boxes with ray-gun-like monikers such as Merc’s radical 7G-Tronic, BMW’s Steptronic, Audi’s Tiptronic and Volvo’s Geartronic, you have the impression you’re dealing with space age weaponry. And, in fact, you may be.

The four cars represent the best in comfort, advanced engineering perfection and dynamism. And when you drive them hard you soon appreciate what they represent in such terms. Though the four are not meant for the true enthusiast, it matters little as more manic models exist for mind-blowing excitement, especially in the case of the three German cousins. In the wings are their respective wild-oats siblings the M5, RS6 and E63 that are on another plane. Our four rivals instead are meant more for reserved drivers - with a touch of excitement added.

Top performance not only depends on energy outputs, but mass too. And it is here that the Volvo S80 displays a weakness. Its creators forgot its corpulent 1872kg weight negates the hard-earned advantages gained in engine output terms, the disadvantage being almost equivalent to three fully-grown passengers. In specific output terms the S80’s 52kW per litre compares well except with the impressive 62 on the Audi’s 4.2 Compared with the 550i’s slim 1675kg, the S80 a heavyweight by comparison.

Alfa Romeo’s excuse for its overweight 159s was due to its alliance with GM and the proposed launch on the USA market before things went bad. Now they’re hard at work to rectify the situation. Will Volvo do the same? In road holding terms and when driven with verve, it’s the 550i that gets the nod with the A6 a close second (ours is fitted with a sports kit). The E500 is not far behind but still suffers with that ever-so-slight wallow over bumps. This may mean nothing to Mr Everyday, but to a petrol-head it’s a weakness.

The S80 does not really invite you to drive it as spiritedly as its German rivals. The BMW and Audi have sporty athleticism built into them, their makers knowing full well that reduced weight offers better results in performance, road holding and braking. In fact, were it not for the AWD baggage, the Audi A6 challenges the 550i in power to weight terms.

So as far as engines are concerned the four are well endowed with the 550i’s sophisticated Valvetronic variable timing differentiating it substantially from its rivals, however the high-revving 4.2 in the A6 with its new direct fuel injection system also lifts it to new levels.

In road holding terms it’s the 550i that takes the cake even though it’s been around for over two years, the A6 again in a close second spot. However much of the latter’s positive road holding and steering feel is due to its optional sports suspension that is not only lower but offers a tauter ride than the standard version. And it’s only when you drive a Merc E-Class by AMG that you realise how much better its suspension operates than the standard version. The S80 offers a truly comfortable drive in ‘Comfort’ mode but when set to ‘Advanced’ mode proved reasonably positive but not up to that of the 550i or A6.

It was the E500 that proved its top-gun engine performance with great acceleration and responsiveness, this due mainly to its bigger sized engine. However the manner in which the A6’s engine revs to almost 7000rpm was exciting. In fact all four sounded good, with the S80 proving surprisingly so. Though the 550i is a bit of an eyesore on the outside, the interior is the most emotive with its smooth, flowing forms on the dash and doors blending well. One has to wonder why the exterior did not attain the same heights. I scored the 550i’s interior a trite better than the A6 and S80, the Merc lagging here, again showing its age.

When it comes to exterior styling the A6’s classically handsome and smooth lines are the most striking, the S80 instead, though more chunky and snub-nosed, appeals in another way. The swooping Merc E500’s is still attractive, the revamped front still not enough to hide the fact that it’s getting long in the tooth. The 550i? Well, we’ve never liked it, and still don’t. Bangle bungled this one as he did his even less-impressive 7, but thankfully redeemed himself with the glorious looking 6-Series.

It is true to say that owners of cars of this calibre will not worry overly much about fuel consumption and there is not that much between them anyway. However one feature does stand out among them - the E500 has a king-sized 97-litre fuel tank compared to the 70-litre versions on the 550i and S80 and disappointingly small 62 of the A6 4.2.

All four have features and options to fill a few pages of script but finally, after everything is said, done and compared it comes down to one parameter . . . price. And here there’s no argument - the Volvo S80 takes it, hands down. What’s more, when you compare our score sheet the difference between S80 and its rivals in price terms offers it an advantage.

My personal choice is the E500. But it’s so expensive.

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