wowscore: 8/10
Carwow price from*: £57,780
The E-Class Estate is our favourite big car for long motorway journeys. The estate model is best – it has different suspension at the rear to the saloon, making it more comfortable. But regardless of which model you go for you’ll have a comfortable time in supportive seats and sat in a very hushed and relaxing environment.
Opt for the 220 d diesel and, thanks to a big fuel tank and great economy (it’s one of the most economical cars on sale) you could easily see over 800 miles between fill-ups – something you can no longer do in the petrol-only BMW 5 Series (below). Or, you could go for the diesel plug-in hybrid – a clever choice that gives you the low company car tax of a PHEV, but with the long-distance fuel economy of a diesel.
2. BMW X5
Big SUVs don’t come better than the BMW X5 – as you can see by its 10/10 score in our review. This is a car that’s comfortable yet handles corners brilliantly, is luxurious for all of its passengers but still practical enough for a family – a range of talents the Mercedes GLE or Audi Q7 can’t match. And it excels on the motorway too, being relaxed and serene even at autobahn (rather than M25) speeds.
The 30d diesel is the pick of the engines thanks to its long-distance fuel economy, though the 40i petrol is surprisingly efficient on a long run too. All models have the same great automatic gearbox that keeps the revs low at top speed, as well as unobtrusive but effective driver assistance features.
Teslas of all kinds have long been favourites of people who want one of the best electric cars but also need to cover lots of motorway miles, and the Model 3 is the best currently available. Not only can they cover a long distance on a single charge – the Long Range Model 3 has an official range of 390 miles, which still equates to over 300 in the real world – but they have access to Tesla’s Supercharger network.
These high-speed chargers are positioned ideally up and down the country’s major routes, and are super-easy to operate and navigate to from your Tesla’s infotainment screen. Around half are open to owners of other EVs, but for now the rest are an exclusive Tesla perk. As is Autopilot – some of the better assisted driving features we’ve used.
4. Volkswagen Tiguan
wowscore: 8/10
Carwow price from*: £32,009
The new Volkswagen Tiguan is every bit as sensible as the car it replaces. That means a super-practical interior, an enormous boot, a range of efficient engines including a very economical diesel, and nothing too jazzy or distracting that’ll annoy you while you’re stuck in heavy traffic,
Sure, the infotainment screen isn’t quite as straightforward as you’ll find on a Kia Sportage, and a Mazda CX-5 is way more enjoyable once you’re onto a twisting B-road – but neither are as good for eating up the miles as the Tiguan.
5. Citroen C5 Aircross
The Citroen C5 Aircross has always scored highly with our road test team because it’s quite frankly stonking value – it’s a big car for the price of a mid-spec hatchback. It’s not cheap and nasty, either, and earns its place on this list thanks to its clever ‘Advanced Comfort’ suspension, which really helps eat up the potholes, tramlines and expansion joints of a typical British motorway.
There are petrol, diesel, hybrid and plug-in hybrid options available – no points for guessing that the diesel is the best for very high mileage drivers, though both hybrids are pretty efficient too.
6. BMW X1
The BMW X5 (above) is a brilliant SUV. Well, at the other end of the BMW pay grade sits the X1, which is almost as good. The X1 is comfortable, feels amazingly solid for a small SUV, and has a great interior to while away the hours on the road.
All of the engines are efficient and you can even get the plug-in hybrids with four-wheel drive if you have some muddy lanes at either end of your long drive. There’s even an all-electric BMW iX1, though this doesn’t have the longest motorway range.
