Vicki Butler-Henderson

One of the family cars we had when I was growing up was a BMW 5 Series. It easily swallowed us three kids with the parents up front and the boot packed with all of our clobber. I fondly remember it taking us on regular four-hour Sunday trips to see a grandparent on the Suffolk coast, purring along the A14 as we sang in the back to Radio One's Top 40 countdown on the way home. I loved those journeys because that car made the miles slip by effortlessly.

Of course, I would have been even happier had the 5 Series had the letter M before it...so this week I'm looking at the best secondhand super saloons for £30,000. It's a fair wedge of cash but just think of the supercar performance you're getting! The cars I've highlighted are on sale as I write.

Additional reporting by MSN Cars used car expert James Ruppert