Luxury cars have always had a certain mystique in the eyes of buyers. With their high-quality, comfortable interiors and typically powerful engines, luxury vehicles are a cut above the everyday vehicles that you usually see on the road. In fact, the appeal of high-end cars is so strong that many people count owning one among their major life goals.
Unfortunately, the inherent quality of luxury cars is reflected in their price tags, putting many of them outside of the range the average buyer can afford. If you know what models to look at, though, you can get an excellent luxury car without spending your entire life’s savings on it.
Following are the top luxury cars that will be coming out in the 2019 model year that you can buy for under $50,000.
2019 Mercedes-Benz C-Class
The 2019 Mercedes-Benz C-Class perfectly illustrates the fact that you can buy a great luxury car at a reasonable price. The C-Class’s starting MSRP of $41,400 makes it an excellent value considering its quality and performance. The car’s 2.0-liter turbocharged engine puts out a very respectable 255 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque. This engine is paired with a nine-speed transmission for the smoothest and most responsive possible driving experience. Thanks to the engine’s small size, though, the C-Class gets up to 22 mpg in the city and 31 on the highway.
Despite its obvious qualities, the C-Class hasn’t received especially high ratings when compared to other small luxury cars. U.S. News and World Report list it at number 12 out of 22 vehicles in the class. That review cited confusing technology features as one of the main disadvantages of the 2019 Mercedes-Benz C-Class.
2019 Lincoln Continental
Starting at $46,145, the 2019 Lincoln Continental comes in just under the $50,000 threshold but is still a luxury car that is still well worth looking it. Inside the new Continental, you’ll find premium materials such as real wood and Venetian leather used to craft an interior design that is both comfortable and stylish. The Continental also includes an available state of the art heads-up display that displays critical road and vehicle information for the driver.
In terms of performance, the 2019 Lincoln Continental has quite a lot to offer. The vehicle’s 3.0-liter V6 engine comes equipped with twin turbochargers that give it excellent power and responsiveness on the road. This engine puts out 400 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque. The amount of power provided by the engine makes the vehicle a fun ride for those who enjoy a premium performance. Even with its considerable power, the 2019 Lincoln Continental is still rated at a fuel economy of 17 mpg in the city and 25 on the highway.
The 2019 Lincoln Continental stands up fairly well to the competition. In terms of performance, the Continental is competitive with several luxury models that cost well over $50,000. Reviewers have noted, however, that this year’s Continental is not as good a value as some other vehicles in the luxury sedan class.
2019 Kia Stinger
With MSRPs as low as $32,900, Kia’s Stinger sedan is one of the strongest values in the 2019 selection of luxury cars. The Stinger can be equipped with either a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine that puts out 255 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque or a 3.3-liter V6 engine that produces 365 horsepower and 376 pound-feet of torque. The larger engine option car propels the Stinger from 0-60 in an exhilarating 4.7 seconds. When equipped with the V6 engine, the vehicle is rated at 19 mpg in the city and 25 on the highway.
Owing largely to its excellent value and strong performance specs, the 2019 Kia Stinger is a strong competitor among this year’s luxury vehicle lineup. U.S. News and World Report rate the car as third in its class, citing its powerful engine options and excellent handling. The Stinger was also praised by Edmunds for its interior design. One disadvantage of the Stinger that was identified by an Autotrader review is the fact that the car’s touchscreen controller is a little too far away from the driver for comfortable access. The same review found that the steering could be better on certain surfaces. Given the car’s high value and otherwise excellent features, though, these are fairly minor complaints that do little to detract from it.
2019 Lexus ES
The 2019 Lexus ES starts at $39,600 and features an exterior design that is sure to draw eyes by virtue of its extremely unique front grille and sharp body lines. Thanks to a 3.5-liter V6 engine, the 2019 Lexus ES puts out 302 horsepower and 267 pound-feet of torque, more than enough to make it an engaging and enjoyable ride. The ES also offers decent fuel economy, being rated at 22 mpg in the city and 33 on the highway. This makes the 2019 Lexus ES especially economical for longer trips, for which it is also well-suited on account of its quiet cabin and smooth driving capabilities.
The 2019 Lexus ES rates lower in its class than several of its competitors but provides an outstanding value proposition when compared with many of them on a price basis. In its review, for example, U.S. News and World Report rated the 2019 ES at ninth out of a field of 14 luxury midsize cars. Only two other cars in the class, however, offered lower starting MSRPs, and both rated below the ES in the rankings. Likewise, many of the vehicles that ranked above it started well over $50,000.
2019 BMW 3 Series
Rounding out the list of the best luxury cars under $50,000 in the upcoming model year is the 2019 BMW 3 Series, which starts at an MSRP of $45,000. The car’s standard 2.0-liter turbocharged engine produces 255 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque, which is more than enough to keep a driver’s attention on its own. If you prefer even more power, though, the 3 Series can also be upgraded to a 3.0-liter engine capable of putting out 382 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque. With the 2.0-liter engine, the 3 Series gets 23 mpg in the city and 33 on the highway, while the 3.0-liter drops down to 20 in the city and 29 on the highway.
The 2019 BMW 3 Series holds up well when compared to the rest of its class. For its price, few other luxury cars offer the same levels of quality, especially with regards to the vehicle’s interior. Likewise, the 3 Series is a strong contender in terms of power, though there are other models, such as the Kia Stinger, that offer comparable performance at the same or lower prices. The one complaint that reviewers have registered about the 3 Series is its somewhat limited cargo capacity.