The big European manufacturers have a history over the years of creating great sleeper cars. Over several decades, companies like Audi, Volkswagen, BMW, and Jaguar have created cars that look pretty boring at first glance but give you amazing performance when you put your foot down! This is something that continues to this day.
There are plenty of great European sleeper cars out there, in multiple different body styles and with multiple different powertrains. If you want serious performance in a much more understated package, you really do have a lot of choice!
10 Audi S4
The Audi S4 is a perennially enduring sleeper car and for good reason. It looks barely different from a standard A4 from the outside, yet when you get in and put your foot down it packs a serious punch! Today's S4 is markedly different from the 1990s original. Current models are powered by either a 3.0-liter V6 petrol or a 3.0-liter V6 diesel, depending on what market you're in. The 3.0-liter petrol puts out 349 hp, while the 3.0-liter diesel is only slightly less powerful at 342 hp. The Europe-only diesel does however generate a fantastic 516 lb-ft of torque!
Those in European markets may rue the S4 only being available in diesel form now. But, that doesn't mean that it isn't still one of the best sleeper cars on the market today!
9 Audi S6
As with its little brother the S4, the Audi S6 consistently holds up as a great sleeper car. Current models are powered by a 2.9-liter twin-turbo V6 petrol with mild hybrid technology, or a 3.0-liter V6 turbo diesel in European markets. The mild hybrid petrol puts out 444 hp, whilst the diesel produces 339 hp. The result is a fast, luxurious, and practical executive car that a lot of road users wouldn't even know is a performance model!
As with the S4, Europeans are probably feeling fairly short-changed at only getting a diesel option. This must feel incredibly bad when you take into account how much more powerful that mild hybrid twin-turbo V6 petrol is! But, that doesn't mean that the Audi S6 can't be a great sleeper.
8 Skoda Superb 2.0 TSI (280 PS)
Take one look at the Skoda Superb and you wouldn't think that it has any kind of performance credentials. It's a big cruiser, sharing its platform with the Volkswagen Passat and the Audi A6. There isn't an explicitly performance-oriented version of the Superb, either. But, there is one engine option that has some serious power! You can order the Superb with the 2.0 TSI engine and AWD drivetrain from the Volkswagen Golf R.
The Skoda Superb is a brilliantly practical car in both sedan and station wagon format. Adding the Golf R's 2.0 TSI engine and AWD system only makes it even more of a fantastic choice. Absolutely nobody would give this version of the Superb a second thought and you could have some fun matching some sports cars in a drag race!
7 BMW 545e xDrive
When you think of fast BMWs, you'll usually think of the M models. But, there are quite a few non-M BMWs that have great performance in a more discrete package! One of those is the 545e xDrive plug-in hybrid. This ordinary-looking executive car produces 389 hp between its 3.0-liter turbocharged 6-cylinder petrol engine and electric motor (the motor produces 107 hp just on its own!) and is mated to BMW's fantastic xDrive AWD system. This results in a car that can do the 0-60 mph sprint in 4.6 seconds and go on to an electronically limited top speed of 155 mph.
If you want a car that's practical, good for cruising, and has a lot of eco-friendly credentials, the BMW 545e xDrive is probably one of the best choices out there right now. With those performance figures on tap, it's got serious sleeper credentials too!
6 Volkswagen Golf GTE
The Volkswagen GTE is a bit of an oddity in the VW lineup. It's a plug-in hybrid that boasts plenty of eco credentials, but it's also squarely aimed at performance buyers. As a result, people have thought that it's a weird halfway house that doesn't do brilliantly at either being eco-friendly or fun to drive. But, that shouldn't put you off! As plug-in hybrids go it's fast, fun to drive, and not too expensive to buy either new or secondhand.
Calling the Golf GTE a sleeper is a bit of a tough one. It does look disctinctively more sporty than a regular Golf and people who are familiar with the VW range will know exactly what it is. But, a lot of people will see that it's a plug-in hybrid and instantly disregard any notion that it could be fast or fun to drive. That's where the Golf GTE's sleeper credentials come in. It's a fast car that people don't want to believe is fast.
5 Volkswagen Passat GTE
The Volkswagen Passat GTE uses the same plug-in hybrid powertrain as the Golf GTE, but in an altogether very different car. Whilst it's fast like its little brother, it's much more of a cruiser and practical load-lugger. Combine that with the fact that you can get the Passat GTE in station wagon form and you get a car that's possibly got some of the best old-school sleeper credentials on the market right now!
In an era where customers of bigger cars tend to buy SUVs, the Volkswagen Passat is overlooked as it is. Add a sleeper variant to the range in the form of the GTE, and you have a recipe for some brilliantly understated performance.
4 Audi S8
Continuing Audi's tradition of consistently great sleeper cars, there's the Audi S8. The S8 has been around since the 1990s and it's now a benchmark for understated performance. It's also now the flagship model of the A8 range, following the discontinuation of the W12 in 2018. Underneath the hood of the current S8 is a 563 hp 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8, with mild hybrid technology added for better fuel economy. This allows the S8 to hit 60 mph in 3.8 seconds, making it a real threat to a lot of sports cars!
Whilst current-era S8s look decidedly more sporty than the first iteration of the model back in the '90s, a lot of people likely won't know how much performance one of these has at first glance. The Audi A8 is the standard-bearer for people who want a big luxury car but want something that's not incredibly flashy. The S8 manages to retain this, even with the crazy performance it has on tap.
3 Skoda Kodiaq vRS
There are plenty of performance SUVs out there. They do make a lot of sense, in many ways. It's another way of having a fun and fast car without having to compromise on hauling people and/or things around. The Skoda Kodiaq vRS is an option that a lot of people might overlook. Like the Skoda Superb 2.0 TSI mentioned earlier, it utilizes the powertrain from the Volkswagen Golf R to turn what's ordinarily a sensible family car into something that might scare a few sports cars in a drag race!
The Skoda Kodiaq vRS is the car on this list that looks the most like a performance car. So why is it included here? It's because not only is it a performance SUV (one of the types of cars that's most derided by enthusiasts), but it's also a Skoda! Badge snobbery is unfortunately very real, and it means that a lot of people might miss out on this excellent car.
2 Jaguar i-Pace EV400
An electric SUV? Yes, believe it or not, the Jaguar i-Pace EV400 is quite the sleeper car when you look at its performance figures! This big crossover can go from 0-60 mph in just 4.8 seconds, thanks to its dual-motor AWD powertrain. It also handles pretty well, thanks to its low center of gravity. That Ian Callum design is great too, being both great to look at and aerodynamically very clever for a mass-produced car.
The Jaguar i-Pace EV400 really doesn't look like a sporty car. You'd think it was a luxurious cruiser from the way it looks! But, when it needs to, it can dish out some serious acceleration and can more than surprise you on more twisty roads. Jaguar really struck gold with the i-Pace.
1 BMW i4 M50
The BMW i4 M50 is, much like the Jaguar i-Pace mentioned earlier, a rather unassuming electric car. It doesn't look particularly speedy. But, when you step on the accelerator, your mind will be changed very quickly! The i4 M50 is one of the fastest-accelerating EVs you can buy, launching from 0-60 in a neck-snapping 3.9 seconds!
BMW is one of the big legacy manufacturers that really has it nailed when it comes to electric cars. The i4 is absolutely no exception, and the i4 M50 is a genuinely fun EV in what appears to be a relatively boring and normal package.