All the kids are off at college and I’m looking to get my first empty nester vehicle.
The criteria is pretty simple: luxury sedan with a lot of good tech.
Been mainly test driving the Audi A6, Mercedes E-Class and BMW 5 Series. I could go either way. The research I have done is spot on in that the E-Class feels the most luxurious, the 5 Series has highest drivability and the A6 is a mix of the two.
Previously driven Volvos and VWs so I’ve never owned any of these brands before. But I feel pretty set on one of the three. Just haven’t been able to decide yet.
Wondering if anyone in the network feels strongly about either of these? Or maybe there’s another option in the luxury sedan category I haven’t been considering?
Audi, BMW, and Mercedes seem to be competing for the same buyer for the past few years. Each has their main strength/reputation (as you said, Mercedes = most luxury, BMW = drivability, and Audio = mix of the two, kinda with an emphasis on overall style), and I think it really comes down to what matches your personality and what experience you wanna have each day you drive it.
I’ve known people who have driven each of those, and there have been no complaints that I know of. I think you can’t go wrong with any of them.
Even if you’re looking at some of the longer term factors, like repair/maintenance costs, for example — my understanding is they’re all within the same tier. Since there’s so much tech in them these days, you might wanna look into which brand seems to experience the most tech issues (I know someone who recently got a Volvo XC90 and they said the screen white-lined, and they later realized that was a known issue.)
Other suggestions would be to consider the types of roads you’re driving on. I’m here in Massachusetts and there’s 18 million potholes and a season of snow and ice. So those are big considerations. But a lot of people have all those brands in my area (and the sedan versions), so I’m assuming that they’ll be pretty reliable in most conditions.
Last point — I personally might veer into Audi territory. To me, they feel like they surged ahead over the past few years in quality and reputation. This is a small thing, but I’ve always loved their turn signal animation. It’s cool, and memorable. Stands out in a good way (I think.) I’ve test driven an A4 and it was the Pretsige version, with all the bells and whistles. If you go with Audi, I’d strongly recommend getting that package if you can swing it.
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