Four-door foursome

Chevrolet Cruze
Chevrolet's new ‘world car', the Cruze, is a thoroughly well-engineered vehicle, with modern build technology giving it an ultra-strong structure and low centre of gravity. The fit and finish is top notch, evidenced by the tight shutlines between the body panels, which require precise machining and accurate assembly. On the move, it feels compact and solid.

Stylewise, the front end is aggressive and nicely detailed, and at the rear, the taillights echo those of the BMW 7 Series or Lexus LS. GM's baby manages to look funky and cool, not boring and cheap like its rivals.

Under the bonnet is a 1.8-litre four-pot producing 139bhp, just about enough to get you to 100kph in a shade under 10 seconds. This drives through a six-speed auto, which works unobtrusively during normal driving and keeps the revs low on the motorway, but seemingly like all modern boxes, it switches to the highest possible ratio as early as it can. This is great for fuel economy, but puts a damper on spirited driving.

On long trips, the interior of the Cruze is a good place to be. There's plenty of headroom despite the sloping roofline, and passengers can enjoy a decent amount of legroom provided the front seats aren't pushed all the way back. The rear seats can also be folded down, and there's a decent boot. The overall feel of the Cruze's cabin is great — the upper part of the dash is finished in the same sort of material as the seats, and all the switches and controls have a pleasing precision to them.

They say a camel is a horse designed by a committee, and being a ‘world' car, the Cruze has to comply with both the European and North American safety legislation, which might lead you to expect a lot of compromises. In fact, it turns out to be a thoroughly competent car, well engineered, aesthetically pleasing, and decently equipped. OK, it is never going to set the heather on fire as a driver's car, but that isn't what it's intended for. What it is intended to do, it does extremely well, and in many ways far better than you might expect.

Budget motoring just got a whole lot more interesting.

KIA Cadenza
The phrase ‘for a Kia' is going to have to be phased out, thanks to cars like the Cadenza. Because this car competes squarely on merit, on any basis you wish to choose, and against any rival.

The Cadenza is Kia's biggest current model, a full-size four-door saloon with a smooth and torquey 3.5-litre V6 driving the front wheels. Stylistically, it draws a lot of influence from European design thanks to the influence of ex-Audi studio chief Peter Schreyer, and his influence is easily seen in details such as the LED running lights, and the shape of the rears. The silhouette is modern, elegant, crisply defined and looks good on the move. Most importantly, it stands comparison with any of the major marques coming out of Europe or Japan, and betters many of them.

Inside, the story is equally good. Modern materials, quality leather, glossy blacks and real metal in the switches and controls — every surface you touch is either softly tactile, or silkily smooth. The dash is an intriguing ‘floating' design, and there's a big central display for the fast-acting sat-nav. As you would expect, there are plenty of toys and parking aids, a thumping stereo and an efficient AC.

On the road, the Cadenza is quiet and comfortable. The engine produces an impressive 290bhp and 333Nm of torque, which makes progress both swift and effortless. Drive is through Kia's own six-speed auto 'box, but unusually there are no paddles to play with, only a central stick. Best just to leave it in full auto. That auto gearbox takes full advantage of the torque available, changing up early and smoothly so you can make good progress across country. Handling is safe and predictable, with a slightly nose-heavy tendency to understeer, and the ride is virtually silent.

And that probably best sums up the Cadenza. It is fast, refined, comfortable, well equipped and stylishly modern in appearance. It offers a comprehensive package of performance, equipment and quality that is impressive, not just for Kia, but for any manufacturer to achieve.

BMW 550i
There's only one car that came up as a contender in more than one category during the selection process for wheels car of the year; the BMW 5 Series. The fact that we were divided as to whether the 550i should be the best executive saloon or the best sports saloon shows how great a job the engineers in Munich have done on this unassuming family hauler. And it took Lexus's M3 baiting IS F to help us strike the 5er off from the sports saloon category.

The F10 5 Series's body structure is 55 per cent stiffer than that of the E60 it replaces. The double track arm front suspension and the integral-V rear axle together with a lightweight chassis combine to make this new 5 Series one of the most agile saloons in any class. Thanks to the active steering feature that steers the rear wheels in the opposite direction to the front wheels at low speed, the car, which is 4,899mm long and 1,860mm wide, feels a lot more compact than it really is. This is especially helpful when manoeuvring it into a tight parking spot or negotiating sharp switchbacks.

These suspension changes are there for a reason; the 4.4-litre turbocharged V8 under the lightweight aluminium bonnet leaves 407 fuming stallions at your disposal. Combined with a whopping 600Nm of torque, the power proves the ultimate test for any chassis and suspension set-up, but the stiff frame of this superb handler comes up trumps. There's of course a flip side to it; the F10 is not one of the most comfortable cars around, being firmer than the Merc E-Class, Lexus GS and the new Infiniti M. But none of these saloons come anywhere close to the Bimmer in handling and control. Exactly the reason why this absolutely brilliant package from Munich was unanimously voted the best executive saloon… A feat which we couldn't manage in any other category!

Lexus IS F
Most of the time in this job we know what to expect. A new German saloon will be good, that's the end of that, but the question is how good? A Japanese econobox, again, will be good, but why we motoring journalists always take digs at them is because they've as much character as a stapler. No, actually, that's not being fair on the stapler…

And then something comes along that blows you out of your socks. Something totally unexpected. The Lexus IS F did just that.

Firstly it looks just like any boring old Lexus, but with ninja star wheels and ridiculous stacked exhausts, so you can sneak up on unsuspecting soon-to-be-losers and humiliate them in the 0-100kph sprint; the IS F will demolish them in 4.8 seconds. Oh, also there is an embarrassingly large bonnet bulge hiding a Yamaha-tuned wonder, an absolute piece of engineering rapture, 5.0-litres of displacement in a V8 arrangement with clever cams, cleverer injection, special heads and an exhaust from the deepest depths of the netherworld. Above 4,000rpm it emits a shriek so violent, so vicious, that they should honestly sell this one with a strict PG rating. It's dangerously addictive and bursting with character, the kind we haven't seen come out of Japan, since, I don't know, maybe the S2000…

It's not all wonderful noise either, this Lexus actually handles superbly. For 2011 it's got sorted suspension and a nicer interior too, so you're more comfortable when doing normal Lexus stuff like dosing off on Emirates Road, but when you encounter some corners, the IS F will attack with honey badger ferocity. It will also drift until the excellent Bridgestones fall to pieces (which they do, quickly) and even the electro-assisted steering is one of the better systems we tried (a compromise, but a fair one).

Best of all, this car is a rare modern treat that involves the driver into the minutest of its decisions. Communication is highly instinctive as the IS F makes you feel a part of every turn, twist, crest and straight blast. It's so involving — as much as its M and AMG rivals, easy.

But overall, is it as good as an M3 or C63? Well, it's different. It's a bit dated in styling and interior execution, and it's cramped. The driving experience though, just cannot be faulted. And of course, there is the fact that it's a Lexus which means it'll break down once every million miles, if you end up with a dud.