Category: Exotic Sports 
Price Range: £23,060 to £54,490
Immensely powerful yet civilised; looks great; clever eight-speed automatic gearbox.
Hard ride; not much steering feel; limited rear-seat space.
A well thought-out alternative to the M3 and RS4, conceding nothing in its performance.
The predictable handling should help you keep out of trouble in the first place, but if the worst does happen, the IS-series scored the full five stars for overall adult occupant protection in the Euro NCAP crash tests (with four for child protection but just two for pedestrian protection).
Besides the VDIM system, with stability and traction control, there's the clever Pre-Crash Safety system, which senses if a frontal collision is imminent, prepares the seatbelts for optimum restraint and primes the brakes. The IS F also gets adaptive cruise control for safer long-distance motorway work, plus front, side and knee airbags for front-seat occupants, front and rear curtain airbags and front seats with extra anti-whiplash protection.
