Special saloons live up to appearances: executive cars certainly provide image. But top quality in automotive design goes deep, and these vehicles offer exceptional safety as well as comfort on the road--and security.(Executive Cars)

HIGH-CLASS EXECUTIVE cars are associated all over the world with the three automotive "S's"--Safety, Security and Show. In Africa there's another S that needs to be taken into account, and that's Serviceability. How appropriate then that one of the top runners in this prestige league is the Jaguar S-type, a remarkably good looker which is appreciated for its safe delivery of exceptional power (including the diesel version) with a combination of remarkable comfort and low cabin noise. It's very hard to break into and steal or steal from, too, though few would leave a vehicle of this quality unattended overnight on any city parking lot in Africa today. Safety is paramount in the design and engineering of these top-rated automobiles which usually cost over US$100,000 out of the showrooms here. The African continent's appalling road carnage record has many causes, just one of which is the poor mechanical condition of so many of the vehicles that are used and involved in accidents here daily. This simply cannot apply in the case of the type of executive vehicles covered here, because they have to be serviced by authorised distributors who will simply not let them leave the premises in second class condition. Reputations are vital in this business. But depreciation on some models is high, so used executive saloons can be a very good buy; few are retained by the original owner for more than three years.

Stability and safety

Another factor in the safety equation is that all executive and other types of luxury cars are particularly well engineered for on-road stability, so that they hold the surface whatever it is even in the roughest and wettest conditions, and always steer exactly as the driver intends. "A joy to drive" is a term often used of large executive cars like the newest BMW 5-Series, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and the Audi A8. This feeling of driveability or pleasure in use comes from a number of factors which the world's top auto manufacturers--most of whom produce larger numbers of less well equipped cars, too--know a lot about. It's invariably the detail that matters. But leading amongst these factors is a perception of safety in solidity, knowing that in the event of an incident as much protection as possible will be provided to the occupants by the structure and sheer mass of the car itself. In some, for example, airbag inflation rate and seat belt tension are adjusted automatically according to the severity of the accident. And needless to say they usually have all the add-ons such as air conditioning and anti-lock braking which make for a safer drive.

Vehicle security can be measured both by how long it takes an experienced thief to break into the car, and how difficult it is to drive it away afterwards. With urban vehicle crime high everywhere all sectors of the motor industry are working on these problems most of the time, and standards get higher every year. But the villains keep up. Now some manufacturers like Japan's Lexus are in the lead with the use of laminated rather than standard toughened glass in all windows, not just the screen which is so vulnerable on unsealed roads. Specially protected (and consequently very heavy) versions of many executive cars are now available in Africa for top government officials, CEOs of sensitive businesses like energy and ...