Best Super-Saloons for Under £15k

Luxury saloons with huge powerful engines, done cheaply.

Super saloons. They have supercar-like engines and the presence of a luxury saloon. That can seat four, hold your holiday luggage and take your breath away when you put your foot down.

Thanks to our good ol’ friend depreciation, we can sit behind the wheel of a ten-year-old super-saloon for less than it costs to buy a new Ford Fiesta, not taking into account the costs of maintenance, of course. So, which super saloons can you pick up for less than £15,000?

BMW M5 (E60)

In the same era as the quickly-becoming-legendary E92 M3 (which you certainly will struggle to get for under £15k), the E60 M5 has a hulking 5.0-litre V10. Producing around 500bhp, this car is well and truly in super-saloon territory. However, there’s a reason why they’re readily available for £15k.

Known as ‘the best car you should never own’ by our favourite car guy, Doug DeMuro, the E60 M5 is absolutely riddled with reliability issues. Owning this car is a good way to become poor thanks to the issues with the clutch, oil pump, rod bearings, various electronics and the fuel consumption may as well be measured in gallons per mile rather than miles per gallon.

It’s a classic case of cheap to buy because it’s expensive to own but it’s stunning, it’s a V10 and it has 500bhp.

Jaguar XJR

Of course, when super saloons are brought up it’s easy to get tunnel vision for the big 3 German manufacturers. Let us not forget that Jaguar have always been a contender as well!

The XJR (1997 – 2003) is probably the coolest of them all. It’s got a real London gangster look to it and has aged like a fine whiskey, which is what I imagine it to smell like on the inside too. Now, if you’re looking for a real bargain, this is it.

Due to the fact everyone is busy searching for old Beemers, Mercs and Audis, Jags like this simply aren’t as demanded which could be why you can get a V8 XJR for around £3,000. Not bad for a car that originally cost over £50,000 (and that was in the late 90s!).

It looks ancient (in a cool way) and it is 20 years old but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s capable of 0-60mph in around 5.5 seconds.

Audi S8

How could we talk about used super saloons without mentioning the one with a Lamborghini engine?! That’s right, the second-gen Audi S8 (2006 – 2010) had an engine that was shared with the Gallardo and it produced around 444 hp, which is around 49 horsepower less (for fuel efficiency) than what was in the Gallardo.

Not only has it got the engine of a supercar but it’s also got a huge boot, spacious rear seats, sunroof, reversing camera, centre digital display in the gauge cluster and all the other luxuries you can expect in a 2006 range-topping luxury saloon.

It’s subtle enough to look professional but at the same time, the sheer size of it and the glorious noise it produces will assure you that this is no ordinary luxury saloon. The best part is, of course, they can be found for around £10,000 with 100,000 miles on the clock.

Maserati Ghibli

You really wouldn’t expect a Maserati to feature on this list, especially one as modern as the current (M157) Ghibli. Although they may not have an overzealous V8 or V10 under the bonnet and most of them are diesel, the Ghibli still has a Maserati badge on it, still looks way more expensive than it is and still has a V6 turbo engine which is… reasonably punchy.

The main attraction here is, and let’s be honest, the badge. For some, it may not be a super-saloon when it comes to performance but it certainly is a super-saloon when it comes to presence. Even though it costs around £50,000 new, you can find extraordinary deals with a bit of time on the internet, with a range of diesel examples available just under or around the £15k mark!

Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG

Unlike the others, the E55 AMG has a real retro-cool style about it. Perhaps that’s a testament to how quickly Mercedes age…

Either way, the E55 AMG has those cool chunky Mercedes alloys, round headlights, a hood ornament and, most importantly, a 5.4-litre V8. One particular bonus with this old Merc is that the engines have a bit of reputation to be slightly more reliable than comparable cars such as the ones on this list, so you may thank yourself for buying one.

It’s older and less powerful than some other sub-£15k super saloons and that’s reflected in the price. You can pick up one of these for around £5,000-£8,000 which is fantastic!