It’s the late ‘90s and you’re looking for a presentable used Executive car that can cope with long journeys in comfort. For the price of a new 1999 Suzuki Alto, there are plenty of options. The obvious choices would suggest a German car or a Swede, but you’re likely to be looking at older high mileage cars, so let’s thumb through a copy of the Auto Trader and explore other options. The Japanese have been producing large comfortable cars for decades, with the added bonus of reliability, surely that would be the obvious choice? The Handsome Mitsubishi Galant was an excellent good looking all-rounder, the Toyota Camry is as well built as the best and the Nissan QX had everything in it. The Honda Legend was considered more of a luxury car but falls nicely into this category. Maybe something slightly more sporting with a soundtrack? The Alfa 164, with its shared platform development, is less of a risk than Alfas of old. Then we have the French, who excel in road comfort with a little charm and quirk thrown in. The Peugeot 605 was exceptional value, the Renault Safrane was one of the most refined and agile cars on the road or perhaps the idiosyncratic Citroen XM helps you stand out if the crowd. Maybe DIY and proven durable mechanics is more of a factor? Sure the Ford Scorpio is no looker, but you won’t be looking at it when you’re driving. Maybe you could buy British with a little Japanese DNA in it, combining Rovers long tradition of building large cars and gutsy performance. There are plenty of reasons not to have any of the cars above, but just as many to support an argument.
Introduced in 1997, the Mitsubishi Galant was sold with a 2.0 litre and a 2.5-litre V6 engine in both saloon and estate forms. Performance versions arrived at the end of the Galants import run.
Citroen had a long tradition of large comfortable cars, with plenty of head-turning features. The XM was not quite as startling as its predecessors but it still never compromised Citroens best-known talents.
Ford last Granada went out with a divisive styled car, but owners were generally satisfied with Fords ability to combine durability with comfort.