Luxury car

A luxury car is a relatively expensive car. In some countries they are targets of special taxes. Luxury cars place more emphasis on comfort, appearance, and amenities than on performance, economy, or utility. They usually offer more modern technology, higher quality materials and are often built in smaller numbers than more affordable mass-market cars.

The 2002 Lincoln Town Car, example of flagship luxury sedan

General definition

Generally a vehicle is considered to be a luxury vehicle if its manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) is above $38,000 and it offers a high degree of comfort. A vehicle may still be considered an entry level luxury vehicle if its base MSRP is between $28,000 and $38,000 and it is manufactured by a luxury car maker, a car manufacturer of which the majority of all vehicles sold featured base MSRPs of $38,000 or above.

General guidelines; in order to be considered a luxury or entry-level luxury vehicle, a vehicle must exhibit one of the following attributes:

Base MSRP of $38k+ and high empahsis on comfort
Manufactured by a luxury car maker and a base MSRP of $28k+

The Buick Park Avenue Ultra, with a base MSRP of over $38k belonged in the entry-level luxury segment

Non-luxury prestige vehicles

In the car market of the 2000s it has become rather difficult to determine whether a vehicle passes as a luxury car or not. Many vehicles such as GMC Yukon or Chevrolet Suburban fit the price criteria to be considered luxury vhicles, yet the do not have the prestige of luxury vehicles. Many non-luxury vehciles such as the Acura TSX and Hummer H2 are also often falsely identified as luxury vehicles.

There are quite a few vehicles who have luxury car-like prestige and/or pricing but do not offer the degree of comfort required for them to actually be considered luxury vehicles, these vehcicles include the Hummer H2, the Corvette and the Viper. All three vehicles have base MSRPs of above $38,000 and the Hummer H2 is made by company whose entire line-up, with exception of the Hummer H3, features base MSRPs in excess of $50,000. Yet all three lack the comfort needed to make them luxury vehciles.

Other vehicles such as the Mercury Grand Marquis offer a high degree comfort similar to that found in luxury vehicles, but are not manufactured by a luxury brand and do not feature a base MSRP in excess of $38,000.

Luxury Market Segments

Luxury Car Segments, according to MSRP

Price

$28k

$35k

$38k

$40k

$60k

Luxury Car Manufacturers

Entry-level

Mid-level

High-end

Ultra

Non-Luxury Car Manufacturers

Entry-level

Mid-level

High-end

Ultra

Entry-level luxury

The 2000 Lincoln LS entry-level luxury sedan with a base MSRP of roughly $32,000

A vehicle is conisdered to be part of the entry-level luxury segment if it is manufactured by luxury car manufacture and features a base MSRP between $28,000 and $38,000. This segment also includes vehicles manufactured by non-luxury car makers as long as they carry a base MSRP between $38,000 and $40,000 such as the Volvo S80 or the Buick Park Avenue (discontinued).

Other vehicles in this segment include vehicles such as: BMW 3-Series, Lexus ES, Lexus IS, Audi TT, or Mercedes C-class.

Mid-luxury segment

The vast majority of luxury vehciles are part of this segment. In order to be considered part of the mid-luxury segment a vehicle must feature a base MSRP between $38k and $60k, have a high degree of comfort and be manufactured by a luxury car maker. If a vehicle is not manufactured by a luxury brand it may still be considered part of the Mid-luxury segment if its base MSRP is in excess of $40,000 (not $38k) and it offers a high degree of comfort.

Vehicles in this segment include the mid-range models of several luxury carmakers such as the the Mercedes E-class, BMW 500 Series, or Jaguar S-Type. There are however also some flagship sedans in this segament. The Lincoln Town Car, Cadillac DTS, Lexus LS430, and Infiniti Q45 are all considered to be part of the mid-luxury segment due to their, when compared to other flagship models,relatively low base MSRPs.

High-end luxury segment

This segment contains almost exclusively the flagship sedans of luxury brands such as the Jaguar JX, Merecedes S430/500, 745/750 Series, or Land Rover Range Rover. In order to be considered part of this segment the base MSRP of a vehicle has to lie between $60k and $100k and the vehicle must offer an extermely high degree of comfort. The VW Phaeton W8 is the only high-end luxury vehicle that is not manufactured by luxury car company.

Ultra-luxury segment

The Ultra-luxury segment are all vehicles that offer an extremely high degree of comfort and are priced above $100k. This segment includes the entire line-up of Rolls Royce, Bentley, Maserati, and Maybach. Other vehicles in this segement include the Mercedes-Benz S600, BMW 760, or Jaguar XJ Super 8 Portfolio. The VW Phaeton W12 (not W8) is the only ultra luxury vehicle not manufatured by a luxury car manufacturer.

Luxury car manufacturers

Car manufacturers of whom the majority of all vehicles sold featured a base MSRP of $38,000.

Current luxury car manufactruers

These are luxury car manufactuers whose models are currently on the market.

*Acura, not a luxury brand by defenition but still carries prestige from past, more expenive line-ups

Past luxury car brands

These are luxury car brands that used to exsist but have since been either bought up or disappeared fromt the market due to bancrupcy.

Semi-luxury brands

Semi-luxury brands are vehcile brands that are not only mistaken for luxury car manufactuerers but also place a relatively high degree of emphasis of comfort on some of the vehicles in their line-up. Usually the model line-up of these brands includes one proper luxury car such as the Volvo S80, Chrysler 300C, or GMC Yukon Denali. But since less than of the models in their line-up are luxury vehciles, these brands may not be considered to be proper luxury vehciles.

Acura, far less than half of all Acura's sold featured a base MSRP of $38,000 or above and Acure can therefore not be considered a proper luxury brand. Due to its past line-up of models, however, Acura is often still seen by many as luxury brand.
Saab
Volvo
Buick
Chrysler
Mercury
GMC
Rover (Europe)
Alfa Romeo (Europe)

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