The 2014 Mercedes S550 sedan offers reclining rear seats with hot stone massage, heated armrests and an electric gliding ottoman…”Magic Body Control” that smooths out the ride…and an “active perfuming system” that wafts your choice of scents into the cabin. There’s really only one aspect of the S550 that won’t provide impressive comfort—its price. A well-equipped one runs more than $100,000.
On the other hand, these days it is possible to buy a new luxury car for a very affordable price if you are willing to make one key concession. This car will provide the comfortable, quiet ride…abundant leather and legroom…and extensive automotive technology that luxury-car buyers crave. It will be stylish and well-made. Compared with the priciest luxury cars, it will cost less to fuel and maintain.
So what’s the concession that you will have to make to buy one of these cars? You will have to put aside any feelings that you have about “prestige” and impressive brand names, because these cars don’t wear badges that say Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Jaguar, Cadillac or Lexus. They wear brand names that are shared by far less expensive cars. But they are superb, luxurious automobiles that can put a smile on your face and keep a buck in your pocket.
Here, the top-five luxury-car bargains now, from least to most expensive…
2014 Chevrolet Impala. Until the 2014 model year, no one would have called the Impala a luxury car. It was a large no-frills sedan sold mainly to rental fleets. But Chevrolet redesigned and reengineered the Impala for 2014, and its transformation is stunning. The exterior is styled with sharp lines that create a confident, purposeful look, and the interior is attractively designed with comfortable, high-quality materials. The cabin and trunk are very spacious, and luxury-level technology such as lane-departure warning, collision warning and blind-spot monitors are available. The new Impala isn’t a full luxury car in the over-the-top-opulence sense of the term, but this full-size, front-wheel-drive sedan is solid, comfortable and quiet to drive, and it offers a luxury-like experience for a very reasonable price.
Price: $27,670 to around $40,000, depending on model and options.* Miles per gallon (MPG): 21 city/31 highway on regular gas.
2013–2014 Toyota Avalon. Toyota makes lots of luxury cars—only most of them wear Lexus badges. Lexus is Toyota’s luxury division, and its vehicles have prices befitting a luxury brand. The Avalon is a full-size, front-wheel-drive sedan that’s just a hair’s breadth away from being as luxurious as a Lexus, yet it is priced like a Toyota.
The Avalon’s ride is comfortable and quiet. Its cabin is roomy and refined, with plenty of comfort-oriented features such as advanced noise-reducing window glass and optional three-zone climate control. The Avalon certainly isn’t a sporty car, but its drivetrain is extremely smooth and its handling fairly responsive. A much-needed 2013 redesign greatly improved the formerly bland exterior styling. This is a lot of luxury for the money.
Price: $31,750 to over $40,000 depending on model and options. MPG: 21 city/31 highway on regular gas for the 2013 model. Pricing and fuel economy data were not available at press time for the 2014 Avalon.
2014 Kia Cadenza. The Korean carmaker Kia probably isn’t the first brand that comes to mind when you think of luxury cars—in fact, it might be among the last. But despite Kia’s bargain-oriented image, the all-new Cadenza is a true luxury car. The full-size, front-wheel-drive sedan’s interior is plush, comfortable, refined and very roomy. Its exterior styling is compelling—powerful, yet reserved.
What sets the Cadenza apart from some other affordable, luxurious sedans on this list, such as the Impala and Avalon, is its laudable driving dynamics. It offers the smooth ride of a luxury car, yet it still handles confidently through the corners. That’s a combination that BMW is famous for and an especially impressive one to pull off at the price of a Kia. The Cadenza also has a system for controlling entertainment and navigation with your voice that makes the driver feel completely in control. It comes with Kia’s long warranty—10 years/100,000 miles on the drivetrain, five years/60,000 miles on other components.
Price: $35,900 to $41,900 depending on model and options. MPG: 19 city/28 highway on regular gas.
2014 Acura MDX. Luxury crossovers are among the hottest vehicles this year, with sales up 16.3% from January 1 through July 30, 2013, as compared with the same time last year. Buyers want to combine the creature comforts of a luxury car with the versatility of a crossover, which results in a premium SUV. The MDX is the best value in this category that also includes the BMW X5, Audi Q5 and Lexus RX 350.
The base MDX has a longer list of standard features than any other vehicle in the segment, including three-zone climate control and keyless start. Optional equipment includes one of the most impressive rear-seat entertainment systems on the market.
The interior is quiet, roomy and as refined as those of some competitors costing more. And while some crossovers handle like hulking SUVs, heaving and leaning in corners, the MDX handles with crisp composure. Buyers can choose all-wheel drive or front-wheel drive.
Price: $43,185 to $57,400 depending on model and options. MPG: 20 city/28 highway (premium gas required).
2014 Hyundai Equus. If you want a no-holds-barred luxury car—but you want it at the best price—the Equus is the obvious choice. It features an extremely plush, well-designed interior, plenty of legroom and an extensive list of standard features, including parking assist, lane-departure warning systems and heated and cooled front seats. Its exterior has the kind of dignified but modern look typically associated with German luxury sedans. The Equus is extremely quiet, which is especially impressive considering that its 5.0-liter, eight-cylinder engine produces 429 horsepower (hp) if you choose to use premium fuel (421 hp on regular fuel). It can accelerate from 0 to 60 miles per hour in less than six seconds.
The Equus can’t match the elite driving dynamics of a Mercedes-Benz S-Class or BMW 7 series, but in every other important way, this rear-wheel-drive sedan measures up quite well to those ultra-high-end luxury cars, despite costing $30,000 to $40,000 less. Plus the Equus comes with Hyundai’s long warranty—10 years/100,000 miles on the drivetrain, five years/60,000 miles on other components.
Price: $61,920 to $68,920 depending on options. MPG: 15 city/23 highway.
While mainstream makers such as Chevrolet and Kia now are building luxurious cars worth their $40,000 (loaded) prices, luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz is reaching down into Chevy territory with its new 2014 CLA sedan, available starting in September. This compact car is the company’s attempt to give buyers a taste of Mercedes quality and prestige for $30,000 (more with options).
The car is largely successful at that goal, but there are compromises. Unlike most Mercedes vehicles, the CLA is front-wheel-drive. The base model lacks common features such as heated front seats and a rearview camera—though it does include some premium features such as rain-sensing wipers and paddle shifters (steering-wheel-mounted levers that let the driver change gears manually), and the base four-cylinder engine is loud by luxury-car standards at highway speeds. The rear seat is cramped. For $30,000, you can get better-equipped, quieter and roomier cars from any number of automakers—but those cars don’t have the styling, panache and, yes, prestige of a Mercedes.
Price: $30,825 to more than $40,000 depending on model and options. MPG: Not available at press time, but expected to be around 23 city/32 highway (premium gas required).
*Prices are manufacturers’ suggested retail price (MSRP) including destination charge.
