DANIEL KRAUS
There was a time in the not-too-distant past when the midsize luxury sedan was king. It was what you bought on your way up in the world, or perhaps got for your first company car. Now, though, with many people seemingly moved on to SUVs, folks who still gravitate towards storied nameplates like 5 series and E-Class do so for a reason.
Those reasons include the fact that sedans offer a number of benefits over SUVs, especially when it comes to luxury. Sedans tend to be quieter for one thing, due to reduced interior space versus an SUV with its big (and usually empty) cargo area. The ride of a sedan also tends to be more luxurious and better controlled too, because they’re not saddled with off-road pretensions or large tires.
Midsize sedans, in particular, are easier to park than their full-size siblings and tend to drive a little better due to their smaller size. That makes them better for urban environments, and a different kind of statement than full-size car. Midsize sedan owners would probably call this discerning, while what they mean might be closer to practical. A midsize luxury sedan, in other words, is a car that is pretty close to the ideal machine: a little bit of everything, in a package that isn’t trying to overwhelm or feel overwhelming.
In a crowd, they don’t stand out, and that’s part of the point, too. A midsize luxury sedan is the quiet luxury of motoring, probably even more so than a luxury compact. Cars like the Lexus ES and Cadillac CT5 are supposed to be soft-spoken but outstanding and even a little bit timeless, which means they might always be with us, in an SUV world or not. Automakers have also been making luxury sedans for about as long as they’ve been making cars; the best of them reflect that they’ve got the formula down pat and have for a while now.
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Acura TLX
Image Credit: Jack Schroeder Acura’s TLX is a handsome, if a little dated, midsize luxury sedan with surprising sporting tendencies and one of the best stereos in the business. The interior is a very nice place to be with great seats, good materials, and generally awesome build quality, as you’d expect from Honda’s fancier cousin.
If you want a fun, reasonably frugal daily that will do a much better job of tearing up a canyon than it has a right to, the base four-cylinder turbo version is an awesome choice. If you need more power and a good looking exterior, the Type S is a serious piece of kit. The former produces 272 horsepower from a 2.0-liter VTEC four-cylinder while the Type S brings 355 hp from its 3.0-liter V6.
The base TLX will run you just $45,000 in front-wheel drive form, though all-wheel drive is available. The Type S starts at $57,000.
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Audi A6
Image Credit: Audi Audi’s A6 has never been the most exciting vehicle in its class, but like many Audi products, it exudes a kind of quiet, understated excellence that resonates with many midsize sedan buyers. It’s super stylish on the inside and out and if you live in an area that regularly sees inclement weather, it’s hard to beat the Quattro all-wheel drive.
The current A6 is available as either a 45 TFSI Quattro or a 55 TFSI Quattro, with the primary difference being the number of cylinders under its hood. The 45 comes with a 2.0-liter turbocharged I4 that makes 261 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque. The 55 has a 3.0-liter turbo v6 with 335 hp and 369 pound-feet.
The 45 starts at $59,790 and the 55 will set you back $64,290.
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Audi S6
Image Credit: Audi The S6 is just like the A6 but better looking, nicer inside, and way quicker. That last bit comes courtesy of a 2.9-liter turbo V6 that makes 444 hp and 442 pound-feet of torque. That’s enough to push the S6 to 60 mph in 4.4 seconds.
The interior of the S6 is a great place to be, mostly because of the quilted leather sport seats that are much more comfortable than they should be. Everything else is typical Audi, meaning well put-together with very nice materials. Other S6 niceties include adaptive sport-tuned air suspension, LED matrix headlights, and lane departure warning, all for a starting price of $77,190.
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BMW 5 Series
Image Credit: DANIEL KRAUS BMW’s 5 series is one of its longest-running nameplates and it’s long been the go-to for sporting-minded drivers who need to haul four adults in relative comfort. BMW offers the 5 series in all kinds of flavors from the relatively tame 530i to the spicier 540i and eventually (though it’s not out yet) the fire-breathing M5, which, if rumors are to be believed, may come in wagon form to the US for the first time.
The 5 series remains a car that does everything well, as long as you’re all right with an interior that lacks the panache of an E-Class, while still remaining comfortable and highly functional. The base rear-wheel drive 530i starts at $57,900, while the all-wheel-drive-only 540i xDrive starts at $64,900.
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BMW i5
Image Credit: DANIEL KRAUS BMW’s fully electric 5er has a lot going for it. It’s got a quiet, smooth drivetrain that offers decent range and quick charging. It’s got a much cushier ride than you might expect from a BMW and a comfortable interior. This 5 series’ exterior styling isn’t bad either, especially compared to the 3 and 4 series and their gargantuan grilles.
The i5 starts at $67,795 (including a $995 destination fee). If you want to go fast, you’ll want the i5 M60, starting at $85,095 and offering up to 593 horsepower and 586 pound-feet of torque from two motors and an 84.3 kilowatt-hour battery pack. It’s not quite an electric M5 Competition, but it’s not exactly slow.
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Cadillac CT5
Image Credit: Cadillac If Cadillac’s CT5 gets talked about, it’s often only because of its fire-breathing V Blackwing variant with its nearly 700-horsepower supercharged V8. Sure, that may be one of the best performance sedans ever sold, but the standard CT5 is a very handsome, perfectly nice luxury midsize that brings a lot to the party too.
What you give up in thrills, that is, you get back in comfort and overall refinement. The CT5 doesn’t have the most modern interior in the class, but it’s still a very nice place to be, with ample room for front-seat occupants and enough rear-seat room. The exterior is gorgeous, especially in red, and looks more expensive than the CT5 actually is.
The CT5 is getting a refresh for 2025 with some much-needed interior updates, making it more like the Escalade, but the 2024 model is great too and starts at $39,790, making it the least expensive model on our list. The CT5-V Blackwing starts at $94,990.
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Genesis G80
Image Credit: LUCAS SCARFONE Genesis may be a relative newcomer to the game, especially compared to its European counterparts, but that just means that it can take a fresh approach to styling and give its cars more personality. That is certainly true of the G80, which is quietly one of the best cars in the class, especially considering what it costs.
The G80 capitalizes on the strong suits of its parent company Hyundai and then ratchets the luxury way up. The exterior styling is super unique and really fantastic; inside, you get acres of soft, perforated leather on the seats, soft-touch materials everywhere else, and well-designed infotainment and safety tech.
The G80’s powertrains might not be the most exciting – neither the 2.5T or 3.5T sound great – but they are more than enough to get the G80 moving, with the 3.5T feeling surprisingly quick. The 2.5T makes 300 hp and starts at $54,400, while the 3.5T makes 375 hp with more refinement and starts at $64,250. An electrified G80 starts at $79,825 but isn’t sold everywhere in the US.
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Lexus ES
Image Credit: Lexus People think of the Lexus ES as stodgy, and perhaps there is some truth to that, but it’s also brilliant. It’s ruthlessly engineered by Lexus to be comfortable, incredibly well-built, and profoundly unoffensive.
The ES is available with either a 2.5-liter four-cylinder non-hybrid engine, a 302-horsepower 3.5-liter V6, or as a hybrid. Lexus sells the ES in a few trims, one of which is the F Sport Performance Handling trim. That is more of a profiling trick than anything else, but if you’re looking for a solid, efficient, and comfortable luxury midsize sedan, then it’s hard to beat. The base ES starts at $43,690.
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Maserati Ghibli
Image Credit: Maserati The Maserati Ghibli has always had an uphill battle in front of it. It’s by far the most expensive midsize on our list in base form, and that base form isn’t all that thrilling. Still, for some buyers, the image is what counts, and they’ll sacrifice performance, reliability, and cost of ownership to get themselves into a Maserati.
To be fair, the Ghibli Trofeo is an animal of a car with its 572 horsepower twin-turbo 3.8-liter turbocharged V8. It’s one of the few holdouts for the V8 in the Maserati lineup, as everything moves to the Nettuno V6 for their performance versions, and while that engine is great, it pales in comparison to the Ferrari-derived V8.
Ghiblis start at $85,300 for the base GT trim with its 345 horsepower V6. The Trofeo will set you back an eye-watering $122,000 before options.
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Mercedes E-Class
Image Credit: Mercedes Benz The E-Class is the Goldilocks of German midsize sedans and the luxury midsize sedan that sets the standards for everyone other luxury midsize sedan, or at least that’s what Mercedes would say. It’s less hard-edged than the BMW 5 Series and more engaging than the Audi A6. It’s got a gorgeous interior unlike anything else in the class and a pair of solid drivetrains. It’s also a real looker on the outside.
The E-Class lineup starts with the four-cylinder E350 4Matic mild hybrid, which makes 255 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque, while the E450 4Matic gets a (great) 3.0-liter inline-six that makes 375 hp and 369 pound-feet. The E-Class isn’t cheap, though, with one of the highest base prices in the segment, or $63,450. The E450 starts at $69,250.
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Volvo S60
Image Credit: Volvo Volvo has always been a choice for people who want to be seen as different. It’s never been the most luxurious or the most performant, but it’s hard to argue with the brand’s sense of style, particularly over the past decade or so. The current S60 (and by extension, the S60 Recharge plug-in hybrid) exemplifies that whole vibe.
Like all non-electric current-gen Volvos, the S60 is powered by a four-cylinder engine that makes either 247 horsepower in gasoline mild hybrid form or a considerably more spicy 455 hp in Recharge PHEV trim. The gas engines aren’t exactly the last word in refinement, but the rest of the car is so sleek and comfortable that you don’t mind when you’re behind the wheel.
The base S60 starts at $43,645 and the Recharge can be had for $51,950, making it, for this category, a bargain.
