Learning to spot mid-luxury
A wide range of price points and features brings category within reach to more consumers
Somewhere between entry-level cars and top-of-the-line luxury vehicles lies the ambiguous category known as "mid-range luxury," or "mid-luxury" for short. Nestled between a hand-me-down K-car and the standard-issue midlife crisis ride, the midrange vehicles usually have to perform double duty.
They need to be able to transport the kids and groceries while also being high-end enough to impress business colleagues and friends. More importantly, they need to be affordable for people earning a middle-class income.
Defining what constitutes the midrange ( out of all the vehicles on the market today) might seem daunting, but car sellers seem to agree it has little to do with the extra features manufacturers add on to each model.
“I would definitely say it is the make and the price point that defines the category,” says Wahid Khugiani, general sales manager at Boardwalk Chevrolet in Redwood City. “Honda Accords, for example, can come with leather, sunroof and navigation, but no one thinks of those as mid-range luxury cars.”
Unfortunately, there is no specific dollar range that qualifies a particular vehicle for this category, but as Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart once said, "I know it when I see it." In other words, mid-luxury really is in the eye of the beholder.
One of the most exciting entries in the category for 2013 is the recently released Cadillac ATS, which the company is calling a "compact luxury sports sedan." The 2012 version — the first year of the ATS — was named car of the year by Esquire magazine, and this year’s entry is already earning raves. The car weighs in at a scant 3,400 pounds and features a 50/50 weight
One of the most exciting entries in the category for 2013 is the recently released Cadillac ATS.
balance. Mix in a powerful V6, and you are (quite literally) off to the races.
Even though features and trim levels might not dictate which category a car can be placed in, that doesn’t mean that manufacturers aren’t touting the new bells and whistles they add each year. The forthcoming 2013 Range Rover was one of the most talked-about cars at the recent Paris 2012 Auto Show, because it was recently redesigned for the first time in 10 years. It is now 925 pounds lighter than its predecessor and has an optional panoramic sunroof. That is in addition to the standard touch-screen audio system and multi-zone climate control.
With a base price of $79,425, it is certainly at the upper end of the midrange price spectrum, but the Range Rover is still a closer reach for most families than the Aston-Martins and Jaguars coming to market next year. Near the other end of the price range is the new Acura ILX, which can cost between $30,000 and $40,000, depending on options.
“The Acura ILX is one of the most popular models this year,” says Khugiani. “It is a brand-new car, and Acura is supporting the product with great lease options. Someone can lease it for as little as $209 per month. It is not a cheap car at around $30,000, but the lease rate makes it affordable. I bet some people spend more per month on their iPhones.”
If your tastes run toward European makers, there are plenty of options to choose from. Audi’s A6 is one of the top sellers in the mid-luxury class, and the BMW 5 series has been a standard bearer in the category for several decades — although Benz fans will tell you that the Mercedes E-Class is the way to go.