55: Audi A7 – Gorgeous premium car that deserves electric power

Audi has just launched its first-ever all-electric car, the e-Tron, which is a roughly Q5-sized SUV. All well and good, but we can't help wishing that Ingolstadt had instead created the new A7 as a pure-electric car.

Something about that low, long, mildly hulking shape just suggests that it should be the most high-tech car around, so it’s almost a disappointment to discover that there’s a diesel engine tucked in the nose.

Mind you, it’s a very good diesel engine - a 3.0-litre V6 TDI with either 231hp or 286hp, and stealthily fast in either form. The interior is a thing of beauty too (although worth noting that it’s more or less entirely available in the much more affordable A6 saloon) but the almost total lack of physical buttons can be hard for us Luddites to get our heads around. Handling is assured and precise, rather than outright thrilling, but you’ll not want to get out after a long journey.

Best model: Superb Combi 2.0 TDI Style for €38,545