Luxury car rant

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Why is that one can’t get a car with a luxury interior for a good price (shortages not withstanding)?

I just leased a Sonata SE and it has pretty much every option I want or need. While picking up the car at the dealer I was checking out the G70 which was over twice the price with lots of extra options that I would never use or even want. With that said the interior was great. Nice leather seats high quality materials all around.

Will any car manufacturer make a luxury car without driving the price through the roof with tons of tech and power that 90% of people never use?

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You’re using a lot of highly subjective language (luxury, good price, extra options, tech power 90% of people won’t use).

With that said, I wouldn’t expect luxury from Hyundai any more than I expect Italian food from Olive Garden.

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Fair enough. I thought I got the gist across but I’ll take another shot at it. What sets most luxury brands apart is a few things:
More power, much better interior, lots of tech, quiet cabin (in most cases).

I would love a car like a Sonata, Accord, Camry, Altima, Passat, with the only difference being a luxury grade interior. Maybe not a couch on wheels but close.

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You aren’t their target audience. You answered your own question in your post. Honda and Toyota target the 90%. Luxury brands target the other 10%

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Right. My point was perhaps you are fishing in the wrong pond.

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You are talking about luxury, but you leased a Sonata, what is the point of the post?

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Seems like a top trim Palisade is pretty close to this. The Palisades interior punches far above it’s class while its driving dynamic/engine is non-luxury class average at best.

Related, I also care far more about interior than engine/performance due to my normal driving which is boring highway/urban traffic. I think if you want a non luxury car with a nice interior the best bet is figure out the features you care about and find the non luxury brand that gets closest. I wanted cooled seats, a HUD that projects android auto directions and a cavernous back seat so I got an Accord. If you care about general fit and finish get a Mazda. Super comfortable seats are probably a Nissan.

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Point is getting what you want without paying for what you don’t need. I got the Sonata because it fit the need and was the best deal I could work. Next time I would rather fill the want as well as the need. With any luck in a couple of years the market will be more in the buyers favor again.

I can’t be the only buyer out there that wants a top shelf interior without paying for 100+ extra horse power and so much electronic gadgetry that the manual for the infotainment system is 1000 pages long.

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:+1:

So it’s not just me. I was getting worried there for a second.

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So you want nice interior materials, low power, and limited new technology…

Have you considered a lexus?

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What type of luxury grade interior are you expecting? Audi or Mercedes-like interior in a Japanese or Korean car?

:point_up::point_up: What they said.

At the end of the day, the term “luxury” is subjective.

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I’m not sure if this is still the case, but I used to spend a fair amount of time in Germany…most people order cars from the factory there, and option them out from the ground up.

You could get a E class with cloth seats and no air conditioning, for example. Manual windows too! Also, you could outfit the cars with much smaller engines…$7 gas will do that!

Here, even a base MB/Audi has tons of options compared to the German version.

This was decades ago, so things may have changed.

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Sounds like you want a Toyota Avalon.

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Funny, I think figuratively speaking you are. Really no no luxury OEM produces anything like a top level interior with a base engine. Again, I’m with you but I acknowledge Americans want HP, tech and a luxury badge first with interior fit and finish being a second tier priority.

As a non luxury example, let’s look at my Accord 1.5 touring. For the first model year they put out the top Touring trim with both the small and large engine. The small engine version sold terribly and they immediately cancelled that trim. Just a single example but a fitting one for Americans having little interest in a top trim car with a base engine. To illustrate how badly this trim sold, Honda doesn’t bother selling it in USA even though they still makes the 1.5 Touring in Ohio for the Canadian market.

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I used to be able to get a Hyundai from work on the weekends. I loved it because it had cooler seating. I feel like my boys are basically getting sous vided every time I sit in this hot bmw. Cooled seating should not be considered new tech. /rant

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And isn’t the Acura compliment that for the past 5+ years, they have been putting upgraded content into the last generation Honda platform. They used to launch the new platform on Acura with all the goodies, then bring it down-market.

Don’t get me started about Lexus.

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@Dougyp333 - What was your budget when you were shopping for a new car?

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I was hoping to be in around 250 but was not willing to go smaller than midsized so this was my compromise. Have driven the Sonata before and knew I would be happy with it as a commuter/weekend trip car.

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To everyone else that’s replied. I am making notes and thanks for the comments.

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The demise of the VW Phaeton, Kia Cadenza and Hyundai Azera are pretty compelling proof that the “luxury car without the luxury badge” concept didn’t find enough takers.

Even the Avalon has pivoted away from the same concept into some sort of wanna-edgy monstrosity

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