What is your definition of a luxury car?

I'm curious after reading some of the suggestions in the high mileage cheap luxury thread. Seems that for some of you all it requires is leather seats.

Maybe I have higher standards since my dad and grandpa have been driving around in Mercedes/BMW's/Lincolns/Cadillac's my whole life, but I just don't consider an older Acura to be a luxury vehicle. Newer ones, sure. Heck, my grandpa's new Toyota Avalon is a luxury vehicle. But our 1990 E30 is not.

Obviously for me, it is a car by car basis and it isn't something I can put a finger on, but just because I can buy a Suzuki with every option as a Lexus does not make it a luxurious car.

What makes something a luxury car for you?

I tend to view luxury vehicles not so much by a set of rules, but more as who i could see getting out of one.

If you can't envision a mobster or Yakuza boss getting out of it, then it's probably not a luxury vehicle.

mtn wrote: But our 1990 E30 is not.

It will depend on context - by 1990 standards, an e30 was pretty luxurious. I have a '61 Pontiac Bonneville that in its day was considered top of the line but it has no air conditioning, no power steering or brakes, windup windows and an AM radio; the cheapest car you can buy today is fancier.

It is like p0rn. I know it when I see it.

I do know the best ones come from England though.

Luxury car= large, comfortable, competely loaded with stupid doo-dads, cross country capable, quiet, powerful car that is elegant with nice lines.

I believe a luxury car is any car that is significantly beyond what you really need (performance or comforts). Thus it is a luxury.

Therefore you can tell you wife you are buying a luxury car:

stuart in mn wrote:

mtn wrote: But our 1990 E30 is not.

It will depend on context - by 1990 standards, an e30 was pretty luxurious. I have a '61 Pontiac Bonneville that in its day was considered top of the line but it has no air conditioning, no power steering or brakes, windup windows and an AM radio; the cheapest car you can buy today is fancier.

Even by 1991 standards (oops, ours is a 91) ours is not. Certainly a nice car, but it is loud, fairly rough, and has vinyl seats. Compared to my dads 93 Mercedes 300E, it is a world of difference.

For me the bar is pretty low. Luxury equipment to me is an automatic gizmo in place of a manual control that would do the job. Power windows, power locks, power seats, climate control, etc...

Some people would add power brakes, power steering, an automatic transmission, fuel injection and electric windshield washer pumps. I tend to agree, but I'm from a generation that takes these things for granted.

To me, if a vehicle has enough of these or a certain set of these, it's a "luxury" vehicle. In my eyes, our Suburban is a luxury vehicle.

93EXCivic wrote: It is like p0rn. I know it when I see it.

This.

Hard to answer. My gut answer isn't the one that I think best defines it. That said, my gut says it's something built with an emphasis on comfort over all other considerations. So in some ways, my gut's epitome of a luxury car is a '70s Buick...

Clearly, the best luxury cars are able to deliver a high level of other parameters as well...

So I think 93EXCivic and Ranger50 are onto something.

For me, luxury is more about a bunch of "creature comforts" that are above and beyond the basic necessities of driving the car. The "bells and whistles". It doesn't have to be large, floaty, etc... Some of the high end GT cars or sports cars could be considered luxury. Porsche Panamera, Aston Martin, etc...it's not just Lexus, Infinity or Cadillac Escalade.

If it's not that, it's like others said, it's porn.

Any car I can't afford, so that makes almost all cars luxury cars!

A luxury car is big, looks pretty or at least pretentious, and has lots of real leather and real wood in the interior. It is also inclined to break down frequently and catastrophically, requiring a tow and a repair costing at least four figures.

It's a vocal thing with me. When I sit down in a luxury car they tend to make me utter things like "Ahh", and "oh god, yes". Silly stuff like that.

My take: if it's built with an eye toward comfort rather than utility or performance it's a luxury car and I mean that in a derisive way. As in: if there's a doodad or geegaw whose only function is to keep a lazy person lazy, that's a luxury doodad or geegaw. Enough of those can turn a utilitarian or sporty vehicle into a luxury car.

Any dictator worth his salt had one of these.

EastCoastMojo wrote: Any car I can't afford, so that makes almost all cars luxury cars!

Amen!

LOL.

foxtrapper wrote: It's a vocal thing with me. they tend to make me utter things like "Ahh", and "oh god, yes". Silly stuff like that.

So it's porn?

EastCoastMojo wrote: Any car I can't afford, so that makes almost all cars luxury cars!

QFT!!!!

oldtin wrote: Any dictator worth his salt had one of these.

We had one of those big turds in the indie Mercedes shop I worked at, only it was the shorter version. Like this: That thing was a pimpmobile like you would not believe. Weighed approximately as much as a suburban house.

I don't think luxury can be measured in equipment, these days a base Fiesta is better equipped than an S class of 10 years ago. To me luxury is more about ride and NVH compared to a cars peer group than equipment. I've never considered any 3 series BMW luxury, but I do consider them premium, a 5 series is borderline depending on the model and 7 series are luxury. Jag XK is a luxury GT a 911 isn't a luxury car, it's a premium sports or super car. What car would you want to set the cruise control at 100mph and drive from Paris to the Riviera in? That's a luxury car.

If its 18 feet long, has A/C, a big V8, and bench seats that could rival my couch, then that's luxury.

Oh wait, it's not the 1960s anymore.

In some sense I think it's that comfort, quality and whatever other trait you are looking for are uncompromised - not bound to a price point. OTOH if you define it as a conveniences above the bare necessity - any transportation beyond a sturdy set of shoes is a luxury.

Then again, the only luxury is time that you can spend the way you choose. Tools that give you more time...

slow

A luxury car is like a well-tailored suit. It can complement someone of any age, and of any build. It is set apart from non-luxury cars not by their features, though they will be plenty, but by the quality of materials and attention to detail.