Top 6 Luxury Cars under $55,000

[svgallery name="2010_Lux_$55k"] By John LeBlanc Here we go again. Just like my Top 6 Luxury Cars under $45,000, here are my top half-dozen choices for those who have an additional $10k laying around in their new car budget: 2010 Audi TT Roadster There's a revised 2011 TT coming this Fall, but in the meantime the current Roadster offers a lot more go than its showcar looks may show. The two-passenger $52,350 TT Roadster’s drivetrain spec may not look formidable. Front-wheel drive. Automatic (albeit, dual-clutch) transmission. And only 200 hp from a turbocharged 2.0-litre four. However, up against its more expensive German roadster rivals like the BMW Z4 and Mercedes SLK, it finally has the sports car chops first-gen TT drivers could only dream of and an interior that can justify its premium pricing. The TT’s four is seamlessly matched to the S tronic transmission. Both deliver rapid responses that are surreal compared to a Z4 or SLK. Even torque steer — the bane of most high-powered front-drive cars — has been extensively mitigated. 2010 BWW 335i Coupe Decades of refinement reward 3-series Coupe buyers with luxury features, a comfortable interior, smooth engines and one of the best ride-versus-handling set-ups in the business. Until the new 2011 335is Coupe and its additional 20 hp shows up on dealer lots, within the 3-series Coupe family, the 300 hp $53,400 335i model offers a nice balance between the über $71,300 414 hp M3 and the less enthusiastic $44,300 230 hp 328i. The four-passenger 335i Coupe scoots to 100 km/h in about five seconds, but getting there is half the fun. Powerful, smooth, silky, velvety, linear — pick your favourite adjective — this world-class mill will have you sending thank-you notes to the engine wizards back in Bavaria. Great steering feel, a perfectly tuned chassis and a powerful engine — the 335i Coupe is one of the best-driving two-doors out there, regardless of price. 2010 Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon With the CTS lineup, General Motors’ Cadillac luxury brand finally has a more-than-competitive product to put up against other brands that have been stealing away customers for decades. The new-for-2010 CTS Sport Wagon — which joins the existing four-door and the forthcoming coupe — continues that success. It has the ability to take on the likes of the BMW 3 Series Touring and Audi A4/A6 Avants. Offering mid-size room, the $50,775 CTS Sport Wagon with the optional 3.6-litre V6, is priced more like its compact sport wagon competition. Yet the five-passenger Cadillac is no land barge. It has the ability to be thrown into corners aggressively without upsetting its balanced chassis. The 306 hp engine can haul the wagon from 0-to-100 km/h in 7.4 seconds: quicker than an A6 Avant. And if you avoid the optional sport package and its rubber-band tires, the Caddy’s ride is luxury car smooth. 2011 Infiniti M37x AWD Often overlooked because of their badge, the Infiniti’s new mid-size M series stacks up well against more expensive (i.e. German) luxury sedans. For our budget, the five-passenger $54,900 M37x AWD is good choice. A 330 hp 3.7-litre V6 is matched to a seven-speed automatic gearbox and traction at all four wheels. And a longer wheelbase and wider cabin means the new ’11 M is roomier inside than the outgoing first generation. Its new interior is arguably the best built and best looking from Infiniti yet. Fit and finish are excellent, and aesthetically, it’s a huge jump up. While Infiniti makes sure even the base models are well equipped. Infiniti’s Drive Mode Selector (a four-mode driver-selectable control of throttle and transmission) and Active Noise Control (which reduces undesirable engine harmonics, providing a quieter cabin) are both standard. 2010 Lexus IS 250 C Like the CTS Sport Wagon, the $52,100 IS 250 C (as in Convertible) offers plenty of style, performance and luxury features that will cost you thousands more with its competition. As is the trend these days, the open-air IS offers a retractable hardtop. Its eats up valuable trunk space, but Lexus says there’s room for two golf bags when the top is up, and one when the top is down The IS 250 C offers up the typically well-made and rich-looking Lexus interior. And with more leg and hip room than an Audi A5 convertible for all four occupants, Lexus delivers more space for a couple of your friends to ride along. The base model 204 hp 2.5 litre V6 won’t light your driving enthusiast fires. But it’s creamy smooth, well suited for the cruising nature of the car and can be matched to a six-speed manual transmission. 2010 Mercedes-Benz R 350 4MATIC If like me, you’re tired of the crossover craze, perhaps I can interest you in the most luxurious minivan on the market, as in the Mercedes R Class. Whereas the Mercedes M Class SUV seats five, and the bigger GL seats seven, the R Class has three rows of two. And Mercedes boasts it has “the comfort and style of a luxury vehicle, the performance and handling of a fine sports sedan along with the versatility of an SUV.” That’s high self praise. But the $54,700 R 350 4MATIC does offer a more car-like driving experience than taller and stiffer-riding crossovers. Its 268 hp 3.5-litre V6 offers enough oomph. The driver’s cockpit has the ergonomics of a sedan. And the R’s roomy seating offers the luxury one expects in a Mercedes. The second row is overly spacious, with seats that adjust back and forth as well as recline. And if you don't cotton to the R's googly-eyed front end styling, the 2011 model will take on the more chiseled looks from more current 'Benzs.

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