Looking to upgrade your car for a more luxury car with a luxury car brand? Wanting to upgrade is perfectly natural, but it’s not necessarily always the right option, especially if reliability, running costs, safety and value are at the top of your list.
Luxury cars can provide significantly higher levels of equipment, comfort, and style than regular cars and are usually designed with an emphasis on performance, but they can also be quite practical. However, they also cost much more than regular cars, both to buy and maintain, according to Policy Advice Net.
What is considered a luxury vehicle?
According to Exactitude Consultancy, a luxury vehicle is considered to be a car that provides increased levels of comfort, equipment, amenities, quality, performance, and associated status compared to moderately priced cars. Luxury cars often use more expensive materials and surface finishes, and have better build quality and safety features than regular cars, says Advantage. Luxury cars also tend to have higher price tags too, compared to your non luxury vehicles.
Some examples of luxury car brands are Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, Lexus, Cadillac, and Tesla. However, the term “luxury” is subjective and relative, and may depend on the personal preferences and needs of the driver. According to Advantage, some drivers may consider a car luxurious because of its brand name, country of origin, color, or number of seats. Others may look for the latest technology or innovation, such as a car that can change color.
What are the levels of luxury cars?
There is no definitive or official way to classify the levels of luxury cars, but one possible way is to use the market categories based on size, price, and performance. According to Wikipedia, some of these categories are:
Compact executive / compact luxury: A premium car larger than a premium compact and smaller than an executive car. Examples include the BMW 3 Series, Audi A4, and Mercedes-Benz C-Class.
Executive / mid-luxury: A premium car larger than a compact executive car and smaller than a full-size luxury car. Examples include the BMW 5 Series, Audi A6, and Mercedes-Benz E-Class.
Full-size luxury / large luxury: A premium car larger than an executive car. Examples include the BMW 7 Series, Audi A8, and Mercedes-Benz S-Class.
Ultra-luxury: Ultra luxury cars might be considered as those costing over US$100,000. Examples include the Rolls-Royce Phantom, Bentley Continental GT, and Mercedes-Maybach S-Class.
Grand tourer: Luxury cars that are designed for driving long distances at high speeds in comfort. Examples include the Aston Martin DB11, Ferrari Portofino, and Porsche 911.
These categories are not mutually exclusive, and some cars may fit into more than one category depending on their features and specifications. Also, some luxury cars may not fit into any of these categories, such as luxury SUVs, luxury coupes, or luxury sports cars. Ultimately though, the level of luxury of a car depends on the perception and preference of the driver and the passengers. What you might consider as one of the best luxury cars ever, may not be for the person standing next to you, each to their own.
Are luxury cars better quality?
There are plenty of luxury models on the market but are they actually better in quality? Well, this depends on how you define quality. Generally speaking, luxury cars are expected to provide higher levels of comfort, features, equipment, and performance than regular cars.
They also tend to use more expensive materials and surface finishes, and have better build quality and safety features. However, this does not necessarily mean that luxury cars are more reliable, durable, or economical than regular cars. In fact, according to Autocar, some luxury cars may have higher maintenance costs, lower fuel efficiency, or more frequent problems than regular cars.
According to Edmunds, the quality of luxury cars can vary widely depending on the brand, model, and year. Some luxury cars may have excellent ratings for comfort, practicality, reliability, and customer satisfaction, while others may have poor ratings for the same criteria. So if you are searching the luxury SUV market for luxurious cars, this will be great for you to compare different options before going ahead and buying a luxury car. The best way to find out if a luxury car is better quality for you is probably going to be for you to test drive it and see how it feels.
Do luxury cars lose value faster?
The short answer to this question is yes, luxury cars do sadly tend to lose value faster than regular cars. This is because they have higher costs of repairs and maintenance, lower demand in the used car market, and more competition from newer models. On average, a brand-new luxury car loses 40-50% of its original value in the first five years of ownership, according to Hot Cars. However, some models may lose even more.
According to Forbes, the Maserati Quattroporte has a depreciation rate of 72.2%, the BMW 7 Series has a depreciation rate of 71.3%, and the Nissan Leaf has a depreciation rate of 71.0%. The depreciation rate also depends on factors such as the condition, mileage, features, and popularity of the car. Some luxury cars may hold their value better than others if they are rare, reliable, or have a loyal fan base. For example, the Porsche 911 has a relatively low depreciation rate of 37.2%.
