Best luxury sedans

For drivers looking for more comfort, convenience, and refinement than mainstream sedans offer, there is a wide choice of upscale and luxury sedans and sports sedans. The best models are inviting, all-around packages that deliver spirited performance, frugal fuel economy, comfortable and well-equipped cabins, advanced safety and infotainment features, and good reliability.

Drawbacks: Luxury cars aren’t the most rational choice from a financial perspective. Sports sedans usually sacrifice rear-seat room. Some also have complex control systems that have proved highly distracting to use in our testing and troublesome in our reliability survey.

The 328i is a fun-to-drive sports sedan that’s also easy to live with. Its turbocharged four-cylinder engine delivers strong performance and returns an impressive 28 mpg. That’s better than all of its direct competitors. Ride comfort is impressive, and handling is agile and capable. Occupants are treated to a quiet, impeccably finished cabin with supportive seats, although the rear is a bit snug. Our biggest qualm is that the steering feels less communicative than it was in the previous generation.
 

Price as tested: $43,195
Overall mpg: 28

The C250 is a solid, quiet, and capable sedan that does an excellent job of blending comfort and responsiveness. What it gives up in outright performance it returns in refinement. The ride is taut and steady, with enjoyable handling. We prefer the ride of the Luxury versions over that of the Sport. We found the 1.8-liter engine to be smooth and powerful, and the seven-speed automatic transmission shifted seamlessly. The interior has supportive seats and good room up front, but the rear is snug. A redesign arrives this fall.

Price as tested: $40,705
Overall mpg: 24

It's no wonder the multi-faceted A6 is a Top Pick. Yearning for power? Its 310-hp, supercharged V6, mated to a silky-smooth, eight-speed automatic transmission, delivers potent, effortless performance. Want to tackle a winding road? The athletic A6 has agile, secure handing, yet the ride is supple and controlled. Its all-wheel drive helps in slippery conditions. And the A6 comfortably carries five in a hushed, luxurious cabin.
 

Price as tested: $56,295
Overall mpg: 22

This is a luxury sedan with a muscle-car attitude, thanks to the invigorating exhaust note of its exuberant powertrain. But the Q isn’t all about brawn. Handling is quite sharp, and the ride is compliant, if not exactly plush. Four adults are treated to a roomy, luxurious interior. The controls are relatively easy to use, so you don’t have to fuss with a convoluted infotainment system. The hybrid version, however, suffers from abrupt transitions between electric and gas modes.
 

Price as tested: $53,825
Overall mpg: 21

No car matches the all-electric Tesla’s take on performance luxury. You can savor both its Porsche-like handling and effortless, silent glide on electric power. Our top-rated car covers about 225 miles on a charge, which takes 5 hours to replenish on its proprietary charger. It can also snap off a quick 5.6-second 0-to-60-mph sprint. Running costs are low, and the rear hatch and front trunk add practicality. The breakthrough Tesla rewrites the rules for a modern luxury sports sedan.
 

Price as tested: $89,650
Overall mpg equivalent: 84

If you like your luxury with heaping doses of comfort, quietness, and refinement, look no further than the LS. It delivers fuss-free motoring with a serene, silky ride and an expansive interior that’s impeccably dressed in leather, wood, and other high-quality, soft-touch materials. The big Lexus has an excellent reliability record, and its respectable gas mileage is the icing on the cake. One gripe is the distracting mouse-like controller for the infotainment system.

Price as tested: $82,503
Overall mpg: 21

Gas mileage is our overall mpg.

Tesla Model S: 84 MPGe
Lexus CT 200h: 40 mpg
Lexus ES 300h: 36 mpg
Lincoln MKZ hybrid: 34 mpg
Mercedes-Benz E250: 30 mpg
Acura ILX: 28 mpg
Audi A7 3.0 TDI: 28 mpg
BMW 328i: 28 mpg
Mercedes-Benz CLA250: 28 mpg

The electric Tesla Model S delivers the equivalent of 84 mpg and can travel about 200 miles on a charge. Though the Lexus CT 200h’s 40 mpg overall is the best among nonelectrics, we don’t think that’s enough to make up for the car’s stiff ride and road noise. Two hybrids and a diesel shine among midsized sedans. The ES 300h gets a stellar 36 mpg overall and 44 mpg on the highway, and the MKZ Hybrid returned an excellent 34 mpg overall in our tests while delivering the sporty ride and handling of a high-end European sports sedan. The luxurious Mercedes-Benz E250 should excite diesel fans. Its small turbodiesel four-cylinder returned 30 mpg overall and 41 mpg on the highway, stellar numbers for a luxurious AWD sedan. The sleek, coupe-like A7 has a smooth eight-speed automatic, and its turbodiesel V6 delivered an impressive 28 mpg overall and 41 mpg on the highway, resulting in a cruising range of almost 800 miles. The 328i, ILX, and CLA250 return 28 mpg overall from their four-cylinder engines. The BMW provides a much better driving experience than the Acura and Mercedes.

For a sports sedan, the IS 250 falls short…very short. Pokey performance is coupled with a subpar 21 mpg overall. The cabin is cramped, the handling isn’t agile, and the ride is neither plush nor steady. Plus, the controls are cumbersome. Its likely excellent reliability is not enough to justify buying it.

Although it looks the part, the MKS doesn’t cut it as a luxury sedan. The adjustable suspension ranges from floaty Barcalounger to spine-rattling stiff. The interior is plush, but it isn’t particularly roomy: Head room is limited, the driving position is downright narrow, and the styling hurts cabin access and visibility.

BMW has abandoned many of the traits that made the 7 Series so enjoyable in the past. Once crisp and nimble, the sedan is now a ponderous, technology-laden vehicle with a less-than-plush ride and ungainly handling. It’s luxurious and comfortable inside, but the Mercedes-Benz S-Class and Audi A8 outdo it.





 

Visit our 2014 Autos Spotlight special section to find Top Picks 2014, Who makes the best cars, Best & worst new cars, Best & worst used cars, Used car reliability, New car Ratings & road tests, plus our reports on extended car warranties and self-driving cars.

This article also appeared in the April 2014 issue of Consumer Reports magazine.

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