You’ve worked hard for years and are finally ready to invest in your first luxury ride. Finding the right one, however, isn’t just a matter of visiting a dealership, slamming down the payment and walking out with the keys to your car. It takes a little bit of homework too.
Lucky for you, we’ve put together a guide to help you decide.
What Makes A Car A Luxury Vehicle?
Luxury vehicles represent the best comfort, performance, safety, and technology you can expect from a car. In addition to this, a good luxury car has an innate quality of its own, something that makes driving around in it an unforgettable experience.
There’s more to luxury cars than leather upholstery and wood trims. While it’s true that these vehicles have premium materials used throughout, you’ll also notice other smaller touches and extreme attention to detail in their elegantly plush, quiet cabins.
Here Are Some Key Things To Consider
Luxury cars offer you a ride so enjoyable that once you’ve experienced it, going back to a mainstream car is bound to feel like a major downgrade. But this exclusive experience comes at a price. The initial purchase and subsequent ownership costs of luxury cars far exceed those of mainstream vehicles.
When buying a luxury car, it’s important to carefully go over the specs. Basic power amenities, automatic climate-control systems, and uplevel audio systems should come standard. If you are on the lookout for more options, consider German manufacturers, who offer multiple versions or trim levels along with extensive lists of packages.
Sometimes, though, you’ll find only a little more than brand cachet offered lower-spec models. This is true especially for European brands, where extras are priced higher than similar features in mainstream cars.
American and Japanese brands fare better in this regard and tend to offer only a few trim levels and a minimum of options and packages. It is advisable to try any unfamiliar features for yourself before actually making them an important part of your purchase decision.
That being said, some high-end features like advanced safety systems, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert and collision-mitigation systems are well worth your attention, because they’re helpful and save lives.
Luxury Takes On Different Shapes and Sizes
Many luxury cars offer an all-wheel drive and are available in sedan, coupe, SUV, and convertible body styles. When choosing one, make sure to take into account your individual needs and wants.
Priced from $40,000 to $60,000, mid-sized luxury cars and car-based SUV models are generally a sweet spot in the market. These deluxe rides offer driving enjoyment and interior refinement without the worry of a large footprint, the occasional impracticality of a large vehicle or the complexity of cutting-edge features. Be that as it may, nothing says class like arriving somewhere in a big, beautiful luxury ride, and space and style should play an important part in your evaluation process too.
Once you’ve made your decision, all that’s left to do is go buy that beautiful car and enjoy the ride. Congratulations – you’ve earned it!