Transcription
Which is best, BMW, Audi, or Mercedes? Well, I'm going to find out with a series of tests. Well, being kidnapped is not supposed to be fun, anyway. Take me to [Music] Wank.
First, though, let's find out how much they cost. The BMW 5 Series starts at £51,000, but a top-spec car will set you back almost £88,000. This 520i costs £64,000, which sounds like a lot, but it does have loads of optional extras, including an electrically deployable tow hitch, oh yeah, a panoramic glass roof, and tinted rear windows. A bar and work in stereo, very loud. There's a Technology Pack Plus, which includes surround surveillance cameras so you can keep a record of whatever idiots have been messing around checking out your car. I embarrass myself sometimes, and the Comfort Pack. Total cost of these options? Oh, over £10 grand.
But what about the Mercedes? The Mercedes E-Class starts at £55,000, which is a few grand more than the BMW. A top-spec E-Class is £86,000, which is more than the equivalent 5 Series. This particular E300e cost £76,000, but there's a good reason for that. There are no paid-for extras on this Mercedes, everything is included in the price. There is one option, it's the silver paint, but that's non-cost. Silvery.
The Audi A6 starts at just over £44,000, and the most expensive version costs almost £70,000. So it's much cheaper than the other two cars. This A6 is a 50 TSI e Quattro in S line trim. It's a mouthful, isn't it? Anyway, it costs just over £66,000 thanks to a few optional extras. The Audi is fitted with a Technology Pack, which includes an auto-parking feature. It's also got the Tour Pack, which is essentially adaptive cruise and "firmament" blue paint. What the does firmament mean? Hey, giggle, what does firmament mean? The definition of firmament: literary, the heavens or sky. Looks nothing like the sky. Cost of options? Oh, just under £5,000.
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A bit like me compared to the rest of the Carwow crew, the A6 is the oldest here, but also, like me, it is the best-looking of the bunch. I mean, look at these ugly buggers. Look, look at that, look at that. Look at these, look at these. Yeah, apart from maybe Lewis. Lewis is beautiful. Lewis. [Music] That was all a bit weird. Let's get back to the cars.
The Audi A6 had a facelift last year. Now it has some shiny bits in the grille and a slightly different bumper. You get some different alloy wheels ranging from 18in to 20in, but apart from that, it's barely changed. Down the side, that's a good thing though. It's simple, clean, and understated. It's the same at the back. There are no horrible fake exhausts, and it looks even more stealthy if you swap the chrome bits for black trim.
The Mercedes looks nice and elegant from the side. Quite like the rear, apart from absolutely hideous-looking fake exhausts. Also, the redesigned grille looks like the car's wearing a mask. You get this shiny grille as standard on AMG Line cars, but Exclusive versions get this design, which makes them look a little bit more like a mini S-Class. There are a few different wheels to choose from, and you can upgrade from the standard 18in to 21in rims.
The BMW is a little bit like Bavarian Weisswurst. I find it a bit... maybe I'll get used to it. Speaking of awful, at least there aren't any huge kidney grills on this new 5 Series. Haha haa. These are actually pretty small compared with the kidney grills on the 4 Series. Are they kidney grills anymore, or are they beaver's teeth? Anyway, I'm still not sure about the front end. There are too many lines and creases, and it doesn't feel as mature as the other cars here. The 5 Series comes in M Sport trim as standard, so you get loads of black trim and 19-inch alloy wheels, but you can upgrade to 21-inch rims if you want to. The BMW's rear end looks a bit fussier than the other two cars. It's like its designers couldn't agree on what the car should look like, so they all had to go. At least, like with the Audi, there aren't any horrible fake exhausts for me to poke.
The interior is more like a curry. Verst. It's much more palatable, and it's got plenty of sauce, such as this beautiful high-definition curved screen, quality-feeling materials, and a general feeling of solidity. The overall design flows on from the new 7 Series. It's a lot more minimalist than the old 5 Series's interior, so most of the physical buttons have disappeared. Sadly, but you still get proper buttons on this core M Sport steering wheel, and the seats are very comfortable. Overall, it feels sporty and sophisticated. A bit like me. Don't know why I said that. I'm not sporty, nor sophisticated. Either way, I quite like the interior of this BMW.
This Mercedes has all the screens. On this trim level, you get the Superscreen. Whereas cars lower down the range, you don't have this extra one for the passenger. And I quite like the interior of this Mercedes. It's got kind of like shininess going on, a bit of pizzazz. I love this wood here. Start something off a yacht. However, there are bits of this interior which they're a little bit cheap and nasty, and they're things that you touch, like the gear selector. Also, this button to release the center armrest is just cheap-feeling. There are also plenty of different seat materials to choose from, just like with the BMW. But the Mercedes steering wheel uses annoying touch-sensitive pads instead of proper buttons, so it's a bit harder to use. I like it, but then I quite like flashy cars.
On the inside, the Audi is fine. Spr... it really, really. The overall design looked epic when the A6 came out 5 years ago, but it looks a little bit dated now. There are also some cheap plastics around the main touchscreen, and you can't upgrade it with any fancy materials like in the BMW. There are some soft-touch surfaces on the dashboard and the doors, and everything feels very solid, all nicely made. But how does it measure up in terms of storage? Well, I'm going to fill all the cubby holes in these cars with 500ml water bottles and I'll see which car can carry the most. Start. Starting with the [Music] Audi. Done.
So, the Audi managed 38 bottles. Now let's test the BMW. Let's do [Music] this. I only managed to fit 25 bottles in the BMW. So, how many can I get in the Mercedes? [Music] [Music] Done. That was a lot. The Mercedes is the clear winner here. I managed to fit 44 bottles in it, which is six more than in the Audi and 19 more than in the BMW. But enough of that silliness. Let's get back to testing something useful, and I'll start with the Mercedes E-Class's Superscreen.
Well, it's actually three separate screens, if we're being honest. There's a 12-inch digital driver's display, a 14-inch central touchscreen, and another 12-inch screen for the passenger. The central display looks great. It's very sharp, the colors are bright, and the menus are fairly easy to navigate. But how easy is it to use Apple CarPlay and Android Auto in the E-Class? After all, no one really uses manufacturer nav when you have Waze or Google Maps on your phone. Well, no one should. If you're still doing that, stop it. Plug in your phone. All right, it's better. Anyway, the E-Class has wireless screen mirroring for Apple and Android phones, and it's easy to set up a new device. Both systems are nice and responsive, but neither of them uses the whole width of the 14-inch screen, which is a shame. There's wasted space on the right side, which really annoys me. But I like how there are some shortcut icons underneath your app display. This means you can adjust the cabin temperature without hiding your nav screen.
Next up is the Audi A6. Its 10-inch central touchscreen looks tiny compared with what you get in the Mercedes. It isn't very colorful, and the icons look homogeneous, so you can't always tell them apart when you're driving. There aren't as many features as you get in the E-Class either, so the menus are more basic, but that does make them easier to navigate. Just like with the Mercedes, you get wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but it takes a bit longer to set up, and the system isn't as responsive. However, unlike with the E-Class, your phone does fill the whole touchscreen, which just looks a little bit more complete. And it's still easy to alter the climate control through the dedicated 9-inch touchscreen underneath the main screen. I'd still prefer some rear buttons for doing that, though.
Finally, we come to the BMW. This has two large screens that blend into one massive widescreen display. The central touchscreen is almost 15 inches across, so it's even bigger than the one in the E-Class. How super are you feeling now, Mercedes? Eh? Everything is very responsive in the BMW, and it's the only car here that also has a rotary controller for the entertainment system. Now, some people still prefer to twiddle on a knob than press a touchscreen. The menu screens are colorful and bright, but they have so much information that it's a bit confusing to read while you're driving. There are some on-screen shortcuts, like in the Mercedes, but they're smaller, so they're a bit harder to use. Maybe that's where you're going to use your twiddly knob instead. Easy to connect to your phone using wireless Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, though, and these apps looked even better on the BMW's display than on the Mercedes Superscreen. And it feels way more modern than the archaic system in the Audi A6. There's no wasted space on the BMW's display either, so it's very easy to use navigation and music streaming apps at the same time. The best bit about the BMW is that you can also view maps from your phone on the 12-inch screen behind the steering wheel. Can't do that on the other two cars. It's such a good feature, and all manufacturers should offer it.
Now I'm going to compare each car's voice controls with three tests. Starting with the BMW. Hey BMW, I'm cold. No problem. I will increase the temperature by one whole degree. Wow. Hey BMW, take me to Wank. Could you repeat that, please? Wank. Please repeat your input or say help. Take me to Wank. I didn't quite understand you again. Maybe these example commands might help you. Hey BMW. Sorry, I didn't quite understand you again. Maybe I've still got to learn the command you used. Take me to Wank. Sorry, I want to go to Wank, not Bank. Wank. I want to go to Wank. Direct me to Wank, not there. Hey BMW, take me to Wank. See, it's a place. Got there in the end. Let's blimey see. It is a place. There it is, right next to Nestle. Wank. Last challenge. Hey BMW, tell me a joke. What does a person with two right feet wear? Flip-flops. It's rubbish.
Now for the Mercedes. Hey Mercedes, I'm cold. How may I help you? Increasing the temperature to 23 degrees for you now. Oh, it increases it by more than the BMW. Hey Mercedes, take me to Wank. In order to use this service, you need online voice control. Please check your Mercedes Me settings. Brilliant. Hey Mercedes is on. Yes. Yeah. Online recognition. Do we need online recognition? In order to use this function, you have to have online voice control. Please take a look at your Mercedes Me settings. Oh, so I've got to go into blooming app, have I? Yes, please. Auto activate the online voice control in the Mercedes Me portal. Only then can you use it in the vehicle. I don't need online recognition. I do actually like a bit of online recognition. So, um, please say nice things about me in the comments. Let's try again. Hey Mercedes, I'm listening. Take me to Wank. The route to Annet Bister is being calculated. That is not where I want to go. Hey Mercedes, I have found multiple results. Where shall we drive to? Not there. Hey Mercedes, take me to Wank in Germany. In order to use this service, you need online voice control. Please check your Mercedes Me settings. Subscribe. Something else. Hey Mercedes, take me to Berlin. No results found. Hey Mercedes, take me to Berlin. Multiple results found. Where do you want to go? You're taking me to Berlin. Hey, canceling the current route and then I will navigate us to the new destination. I've got a feeling it's not doing anything out of this country, and I need that Mercedes Me portal to be able to get directions to somewhere abroad. Try one more. Hey Mercedes, take me to Edinburgh. Several results available. What's the plan? Where are we going? There's no speech data available, so I can't enter a destination. Hey Mercedes, take me to Munich. Just canceling the current route now, and then I can navigate us to the new destination. Duni. Bam. Money. That does not even sound like Munich. I'm not sure that it's having a bit of a nightmare because we've got a really poor internet connection here. Anyway, it's not making a very good show of itself, is it? Last thing. Hey Mercedes, tell me a joke. You need online voice control for this service. Please check. Check your Mercedes Me settings. It's probably brilliant when you've got an internet connection, but we'll never know.
Finally, the Audi. Now, you don't activate it by saying "Hey Audi." You have to press a button, which actually is easier. So, here we go. I'm cold. An unknown error has occurred. If you wish to use the online speech recognition service, please accept the license agreement. Okay, then. I'm going to accept that on behalf of Audi. New. Thanks, Audi New, for lending us this car. Really appreciate it. Go check them out if you want an Audi. Anyhow, let's see if that works. I'm cold. What temperature would you like to set? I would like it to be 30 degrees. I'll increase the temperature to the maximum value of 28 degrees. Okay. Take me to Wank in Germany. You can now say additional search terms or select a line number. Germany. Wank. Right. I know it's gone to something else. What would you like to do? Take me to Wank. You can now say additional search terms or select a line number. Just Wank, not things with Wank in the name. No. What can I do for you? Take me to Wank in Germany, please. Now say additional search terms or select a line number. Order that. Tell me a joke. Pardon? Tell me a joke. On the screen, I've displayed the things you can say. Yeah. Yes. I think from that, we can all agree that it appears that maybe the BMW is the least rubbish. But we'll never know because the Mercedes wasn't connected to the internet. I don't think they really got much on Google, have they? Google Assistant is better, and obviously Apple Siri. I think you can actually use the assistant, Siri, and Google through the BMW. So why would you not just use them? Anyway, I'll be switching to rest mode now. To continue, press the talk button. Yeah. For forever rest. The forever rest, please. However, dodgy voice controls aren't the only issues I found with these premium German saloons. For each car, I'm going to tell you one thing that might put you off buying it, but to be fair, I'll also tell you one good thing that could make up for that bad thing.
I'm going to start with the Audi A6. This generation of Audi A6 has been around for absolutely ages, so if you buy one of these, no one will actually know that you've got a new car. There is an advantage to that, you see. In order to sell these things, how is having to discount them? And here is the best saving I found off one through Carwow. But that's not all. If you want something a bit faster, the RS6 has even better discounts. You could save around £9,500 on average if you buy a new Audi RS6.
But before you get too excited, let's check out the BMW 5 Series. In order to reduce the amount of buttons in the cabin, BMW put many functions through the car's entertainment system. For instance, if I want to alter the lights, I have to press that button there, then go into the screen. I can choose side light, parking light, left parking light, high assistant, often panoramic glass. RS eat into car's headroom, not because of the glass itself, it's actually quite thin, it's because you have to have a roller system and space for the blind to go when you retract it. And it's usually here in the back. But look, headroom is actually decent. Reason being is this, unlike with most cars, the blind retracts forward. Just genius. Why did no one else think of that? Well then, BMW.
Finally, the Mercedes E-Class. I have a bit of a problem with Mercedes door handles. I can't always get them to work properly. Now, if you swipe your finger like that, they should open. This one has actually opened this time, and if you swipe it again, it will close. Now, every other car besides this one, it's never done it properly. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But it appears now that I can make it. Ah, and yeah, see, you get the idea. Also, the handle itself just feels weird. Just, it's almost like you're wrestling with it, like, "Don't at all come." You get a little camera there on the dashboard, and you can use that for recording video reviews on cars. So all you have to do is just plug in a USB to the port, and it will just download that footage onto your card. Brilliant. You can also use that for Zoom meetings. That's right, you can do Zoom meetings from this car using that camera. Hello.
This probably won't affect your decision to buy a Mercedes E-Class, but the selection of engines might. Speaking of which, all of these cars have a 2-litre turbocharged petrol engine mated to an automatic gearbox. However, both the Mercedes and the Audi are plug-in hybrids, so they're boosted by electric motors. And the Mercedes has 313 horsepower. The Audi has 299 horsepower, benefits from all-wheel drive. The only car here, the BMW, it's not a plug-in hybrid, so it hasn't got the extra boost on electric motor and just 208 horsepower. But they are BMW horsepowers, which are known to be a little bit more powerful than average. Now, if you want to see the entire engine lineup for each of these cars, slow your video down now and watch this at like 0.25 speed.
Now let's have a drag race to see how these cars compare in terms of performance. Admittedly, this BMW is down on power because it's not plug-in hybrid, but it's also down on weight. The Audi, 2.1 tons, and the Mercedes, 2.2 tons. Plus, this BMW has another advantage in the fact that it has launch control, whereas the other two cars don't. So let's see how they perform over the quarter mile. We'll also compare their 0-60 times with what they're supposed to achieve according to the manufacturers. So, here we go. Three, two, one. Considering it's rear-wheel drive, only got a great start, this BMW. That Audi just shut off. Really interesting. It absolutely smashed the Mercedes off the [Applause] line, and those two are gapping [Applause] me. Just wasn't quick enough. I mean, I thought the weight might play a little bit more into it. I'm impressed with how this launch, considering it's just rear-wheel drive, compared to the Audi. But once they were going, the added power of the other two cars just did the job. Anyway, let's have a look at their times.
So, what exactly happened? Well, the Audi won. It completed the standing quarter mile in 14.3 seconds. The Mercedes took 14.6 seconds, and the BMW came last, crossing the line in 15.5 seconds. The Audi was also the quickest accelerating car here. It took 5.8 seconds to go from 0 to 60 mph, which is 0.4 of a second quicker than Audi claims the car should. Next was the Mercedes. It took 6.2 seconds to go to 60 mph, which is 0.2 seconds quicker the Mercedes claims. And the BMW was the slowest. It took 7.1 seconds to go from 0 to 60 mph, but to be fair, that's still 0.4 seconds quicker than BMW says the car should go. Anyway, that's enough fun drag racing. Let's find out what these cars are like to drive normally.
This BMW doesn't have the adaptive suspension, which you can get on other versions as an option. In terms of comfort, it's okay, though. I can feel a few bumps and things like that. They've set the car to have a bit of a sporty edge to it, and the trade-off is comfort, though I'd never describe this as uncomfortable. It's just not super floaty like this car can feel like when you have the adaptive dampers. Always worth getting, in my opinion. With the BMW, that bonging is because the car thinks I'm going too quickly. I'm breaking the limit, even though I'm on a closed road. In terms of noise levels, can't really hear any tire noise, little bit of wind noise, that's it. And I've got the adaptive cruise control, so I'm going to engage it now. Now, being a BMW, obviously you want to be able to tailgate, but can you do it with the adaptive cruise? Annoyingly, in order to alter the distance control because it's set too far away, I have to press this button. Come on, press it. There we go. Go into that, go into this, go to that, and I can reduce the distance I'm following the car in front. Let's see how close I can actually get. Right, what line can I read in the eye test exam? OT T Z. At the minimum distance, can't get any lower than line three. Doesn't let you get that close. Supposed to be a BMW, should allow you to tailgate. Oh, wait, it's breaking now. I can see more lines now. I can read the bottom one. E P D Z C L T F D. I think. But that's at zero speed. Right, let's try the E-Class.
This car is fitted with constantly adaptive dampers, which are constantly adjusting to your driving style and the road conditions, and it does make it have a nice, kind of slightly liquid smooth feeling to the way it goes down the road. It is a heavy car, though, so the suspension does have quite a bit to cope with, which means, like that, when you go over a bump, you get a bit of a jolt. But other than that, it's very smooth. It's quiet as well. Not much road noise, just a bit of wind noise. Relaxing. Get the adaptive cruise on the go. Thankfully, I can do the distance here using a button rather than having to mess around in menus. Minimal distance. What can I read? I can definitely read OT T Z, so that's the third line. Can I do the fourth? Oh, I think I can see an L, maybe a P or a T. A bit closer, but not much closer. Let's try that fourth line again. P L. Is that a D? I don't know. We're going to find out now as we come to a stop. Yeah, P L D. It was. Yeah, and then E. I couldn't see the E, but I can see it all now. It's bringing me to a complete stop, like you're just shunting along in traffic. Uh, there we go. Can you drive forward, please, sir? You need online voice control for this service. Please check your Mercedes Me settings. I literally don't know why she keeps talking. Yeah, and you can get to move away again, and the cruise control stays engaged, and it'll just shun you along in traffic, which is nice. Don't you dare say another word.
Audi, let's get this cruise control working. Can I remember how to do it? Right, let's get to speed. Here we are. Come on, let me get close. Listen all the way back. Oh, hello. Bit closer. Definitely the third line seems closer. But wait, P L. That N or something. The fourth line, OT T Z, is dead easy. P L D. Yeah. Fourth line, just about about the same as the Mercedes, although it did seem slightly closer. It's quite interesting comparing this to Mercedes. Doesn't feel quite as soft or as like sco, but it's still reasonably comfortable. Same with sound insulation. Don't, it's quite as quiet as the Mercedes. Not far off. These cars are all just so close to one another, it's really hard to separate them. But I would say this is quite similar in terms of the suspension and the noise to the BMW, and maybe the Mercedes is just that little bit more luxurious feeling in terms of the comfort level. Maybe this is just a bit softer edge than the BMW over the bumps, just a little. Oh, wait, wait. Let's, let's engage this again. Oh, what I do it? Come on, engage, engage, engage. I can't do it. I can't do it. Too late. Too late. I can't do the shunting along in traffic. I forgot. Oh, well, it does do it because I had one of these before, trust me. Come on, do it. There we go. That's it. Stop. And now move away. This car will do it for me. Good. They all do it. Got to say, though, BMW definitely the worst letting you get close to the car in front, which is exactly what you don't expect.
Enough of that. Let's find out if the BMW is also the best to drive on a twisty country road. Changing gears manually, the gearbox is pretty good. Steering feels a little bit vague, though, kind of numb, and you can't really tell how much grip the front wheels have. The suspension on some bumps, it feels a bit on the firm side. It's a bit bumpy occasionally over rough surfaces, but it does stay fairly flat in the bends. One of the problems is, though, that doesn't seem that like agile, like it doesn't really want to move around or rotate. Like here, I should be really rot... Oh, that's a bit better. Fortunately, there's not quite enough power to really make full use of that. Just going in early here. Oh, N. This one's to understeer a bit more than you'd imagine from a BMW. You think they're going to be tail-happy, but there, look, it's kind of not gripping at the front that well. It's going quickly enough, and it's staying reasonably flat for this kind of car, but it's just, oh, there we go. You really have to bung it, and then it will start to rotate. That's better. You know what's letting it down? It's the steering. It's just vague and doesn't feel quite sharp enough, and a little bit pushy. Other than that, though, the chassis does feel pretty predictable and quite composed when you're throwing it about. Wish it was just a little bit more playful, like a BMW should be. Okay, here we go.
Let's check out the handling on the Mercedes. First thing to note, the braking feels a bit squishy than the BMW. Being a plug-in hybrid, the first part you're braking is regen, and then you go into the friction braking, and as a result, it's a little bit inconsistent. Gosh, I tell you what I do prefer about this than the BMW. The steering. That was a terrible line through there. It just feels more accurate. It's got more feel through the wheel. Also, the car seems to just like slide a little bit more around the corners, has a bit more agility to it, even though it's like, oh, oh, I think I might have over-agiled. Designer [Music] kicks in and stops all your fun. It's a shame because actually you could really get a flow on with this car. I think the reason I kind of like about it, it's like the float down the road, and the steering is really nice, and it has an element of playfulness, right until the point of the nannying traction control kicks in and stops all the fun. It's a shame because I do quite like it, but there's always a pleasure to be had from just getting the most out of a soft car around a bend. Right there, it saved my life. It didn't kill me, but it killed the fun. And again, B sharper. This has nicer steering, and there's something pleasurable about the way it just goes down the road. I like it. With the BMW, does handle better.
Now let's check out the handling of the Audi. Getting a beeping sound because I'm low on fuel. Suspension-wise, it feels like a halfway house between the Mercedes and the BMW, though actually it's closer to the BMW in terms of firmness. Keeps the car quite flat, and even though it's heavy, it does feel more than 100 kilos lighter than that big, floaty Mercedes. It's not quite as luxurious in the way that it goes down the road, though. However, it does feel sharper in the way that it handles. Doesn't lean so much like the Mercedes. You can get it rotating quite nicely, though, when you bung it into a bend, and it actually feels a little bit more responsive and playful than the BMW, and actually a bit less understeery. Bizarre. Maybe it's just because the steering feels nicer. I really didn't like the steering in that BMW so much. I liked it best in the Mercedes, and this is better than the BMW, but not quite as nice in terms of feedback through the wheel as that Mercedes. But it's sort of doing like halfway between the BMW in terms of just like cornering quite true and having some motion in it. So it's actually pretty good. And of course, when it comes to like getting out of the corners, four-wheel drive system is doing the job. So if it does get a bit weird when you chuck it in, you can just floor the throttle and it'll pull you straight. Everyone slags off the A6 for being boring to drive, but you know, they're actually really good and really capable. And this one, despite all the added weight of the hybrid system, it's doing a good job. Do you know what? When you add all of it together, I think overall I prefer the way this Audi handles. It's just so easy to drive quickly. And while it may be a hybrid, the brakes don't seem quite as long and spongy and inconsistent as the Mercedes. But there, you can get it really like rotating around the bends. I like it. Surprise of the day. It may be old, you know, but they built it right in the first place, and the way it drives stood the test of time.
But will it be a different story when I test out the back seats in these cars? Let's start with the BMW 5 Series. It's pretty comfy here in the back of the 5 Series. Got enough knee room, headroom's good. Wish there was a bit more foot space. I can stretch out underneath the seat in front. It's still okay. Now, if you need to carry three in the back at once, it is a bit of a squeeze, but it's not too bad, and the center seat is surprisingly comfortable for the middle passenger.
Next up, the Audi A6. Knee room and headroom are very similar to the BMW, maybe a bit more headroom here. There's also a little bit more foot space, and I like the way that the seats contour to your body. They're a little bit too upright, wish they reclined a little bit more. Terms of carrying three in the back at once, it's similar in terms of shoulder space to the BMW. There, the middle seat isn't quite as comfortable.
Here in the Mercedes, once again, knee room's very similar. In fact, maybe a little bit more because of the way these seats like arch. Also, it's the one where you can put your feet under the seat in front the most, so foot space does feel good. And I like the way that you do have very contoured seats, you feel like you're in your own individual chair, and it's reasonably reclined as well. It's comfy when there's two of you in the back. When there's three, it's actually the worst. It seems to have the narrowest body, so the people in the two outer seats do get pushed outwards, and they might end up touching the head on there. So the Mercedes is best for carrying two in the back, but the BMW is a better choice if you need to carry three at once.
Now let's compare these cars' boots with something I like to call the kidnap victim test. I want to see which is the most uncomfortable if you have to take a hostage along. Okay, so victim number one, what is the capacity of the BMW 5 Series's boot? It's 520 litres. Do you have any particular issues with this boot as a place to be held hostage? These ridges are digging into my shoulder a little bit, and it's not the most comfortable, but, um, yeah, could be worse, but it's all right. Yeah, well, being kidnapped is not supposed to be fun, anyway. Yeah, right. Let's move on to the Audi and kidnap victim number two. Oh dear. I don't know where the boot release is. Kidnapped victim number two, you're never getting out of there. Oh, I found it. So then, kidnap victim number two, what is the big capacity of this car? It's 530 litres. Okay. And if you go for the hybrid version, that's 360 litres. Is there anything that's bugging you about being in here other than the fact that you may never get out alive? Yeah, like there's not a lot of room around the torso, so I can't really expand my lungs. But okay, well, might suffocate in a bit then. Right. Finally, we move on to the Mercedes, the poshest car to get kidnapped in, and victim number three. Hello. You all right? H. H. Okay, so can you tell me the big capacity of this car? Um, well, I think the normal model has 540 litres. This definitely doesn't. It's 370 because it's the plug-in hybrid. So, what's bugging you about this? Well, there's like, there's a metal bit on the top, it's not very nice, but it's all soft lining down here. Oh, okay. I'll give you a little tip. There's actually a little button there, right, that you can flick like that. But you won't be able to actually reach it if I shut this boot down again, you see. Unfortunately. Go and try and see if you can do it and escape through the seats. No. He's just going to remain [Music] there.
So then, what's my final verdict? Well, the BMW 5 Series is a good all-rounder. I'm convinced by the way it looks, though. Moving on to the A6, quite impressed with how well it stood the test of time. And then there's the Mercedes, which does feel the most luxurious to drive, though it's also the softest and the squishiest. That brings me back to the Audi, because, you know, it's actually good and it's decent value for money compared to that Mercedes. But if I'm buying a new car, I'm going to want it to look new, and so I'm probably just going to default and get the BMW 5 Series in the end. It's close between these cars, and I could change my opinion on any other day, anyway. But today, the 5 Series wins this test, just.
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