Used Saloon for sale

Who are saloon cars suitable for?

Saloon cars can be very versatile, suitable for a wide range of drivers including families who want the extra interior space that a saloon can offer compared with a hatchback.

Businesspeople and commuters will also enjoy saloons for their smooth handling, fuel efficiency and comfortable ride quality. Manufacturers know that many buyers belong to this category, so there’s no shortage of luxury saloons to pick from.

In fact, saloons are so popular that Audi makes a saloon version of its A3 hatchback – it’s just one of the many Audi saloons, and sits below the bigger A4, A5, A6 and A8.

What types of saloon cars are there?

Premium saloons are often associated with luxury brands like Audi, BMW and Mercedes, and as such, they usually come with higher-end features like leather seats, advanced infotainment systems and decent performance, even in their most basic forms.

If you don’t need the latest and greatest, there’s a range of more affordable saloons to pick from that deliver all the same practicality and efficiency benefits. Anybody throwing family life at their car, whether that’s muddy boots or lots of shopping bags, will probably prefer something a bit less flashy.

Saloons were also among the first types of cars to get the electric treatment – popular models like the Tesla Model 3 and Polestar 2 spring to mind.

On the flip end, you can get saloons with big, powerful engines, with many V6 and V8 options available, including the likes of the BMW M3 and Mercedes-AMG C63.

Popular saloon cars

Take a look at historical car sales figures and you’ll see one of the most common used cars each month is the BMW 3 Series – it frequently appears in the top 10 and for good reason. It’s one of the best saloons to drive.

Before the Model Y became popular, the Tesla Model 3 was also a chart-topper month after month, and with the launch of a new version, you can pick up first-generation and pre-facelift editions for less than half their original price. That’s on top of the considerable fuel savings you can make with an electric car.

Although there are plenty of budget-friendly saloons, some of the most popular have a luxurious edge, including many Mercedes saloons and BMW saloons. Slightly larger cars like the BMW 5 Series, Mercedes E-Class and Audi A6 all have lots going for them, but you don’t have to break the bank if you’re buying used.

Standout saloon features

Because they’re usually longer than a hatchback, saloons have more interior space and rear legroom, which is great if you plan on carrying passengers regularly.

They also have bigger boots, but it’s worth mentioning that the standard saloon boot opening is narrow, because only the metal part opens – not the glass. That said, there are plenty of hatchbacks that look like saloons, so you can have the best of both worlds.

With more distance between each of the four wheels, saloons can be especially stable on the motorway, but they’re not so long that they become unwieldy on twisty country roads.

Saloon vs. estate

Estate cars are usually based on saloons, so from the front, they look very similar. It’s at the back where their profiles change.

Saloons have a sloping rear window that leads to the boot, but estates have a high roofline that covers a bigger boot.

Very often, the estate version of a saloon car will be very similar in size, but that extra height and wide boot opening leads to a bigger boot space.