Mercedes-AMG G 450d

Along the Tivat waterfront the G-Class is practically the local uniform, and there is a reason: nothing else carries five people, a week of luggage and that much presence in one box. The diesel straight-six is the version that makes sense here, with range for the whole coast on a tank and torque that flattens the climb to Lovcen.

It is bigger than the bay's old lanes want a car to be, which is part of the fun and occasionally part of the work. Park it at the hotel rather than hunting old-town spaces, and let the size do its job on the open road instead.

It is the car families book when the week is equal parts marina and mountain: room for everyone and the bags down to Tivat, capability for the Lovcen climb and the gravel track to a hillside villa, and enough presence that the valet remembers it. Most weeks it lives on the open road and parks at the hotel, which is exactly how to run it. Delivered to Porto Montenegro or the villa gate, it earns its keep from the first morning.

Wide car, narrow towns: plan hotel or garage parking in Kotor and Budva old towns. Cross-border runs to Dubrovnik are usually possible with the permit added at booking.

Where it fits best: the Tivat marina scene, Riviera delivery in Budva.