[Aman2438]

Would have voted for BMW.
From childhood I have been a bimmer fanboy. "The Ultimate Driving Machine" this tagline has a special place in my heart. Although the current crop of BMW's are no longer as pure as the BMW's of the yore but they still tend to be one of the best driving cars in their respective segments. Apart from that the amazing reliability they have is an added bonus which makes the choice even more convincing for me.

[ron_9191]

Luxury should and must be reliable no matter how financially loaded one can be. That is one of the reasons I voted for Lexus. Those cars look properly different from their German counterparts.

I love the German brands too but, somehow, its the Lexus and their design language that got me in the last few years. I mean how can you not love the Lexus LS

[gupta_v_kr]

I own a BMW but voted for the Mercedes. I am more than happy with the driving pleasure of my 330Li but the interiors of the new C- class are just droolworthy. If only the Mercedes came with a more potent petrol engine!

[Asish_VK]

Loved BMW in the past when they had the kidney grills, but with the new 'Lungs' grill, i totally hate them.

With the current design & interiors I am having a soft corner to Volvo's.

Going to ultra luxury marques, love Aston Martins.

[sunikkat]

BMW and Porsche period.
Has been my favourite since childhood and nothing can really change that.

[OffRoadFun]

I own an Audi but will vote for Mercedes for timeless styling, elegance. I feel Audi has good interiors but below average in terms of performance or exteriors (save may be RS7, E-tron GT or A5). BMW has great driving dynamics but interiors (personal opinion) are so-so and recent exterior updates are UGLY. May be biased coz grew up in 90's as kid but Mercedes seems to have best overall appeal between the big three Germans.

[Tutenkhamen]

Hot take: Head turning potential is important to me along with driving dynamics. Jaaaag it is! And in extension to that idea, a LR would just be the loveliest thing in my garage.

Being in Punjab where everyone goes with a Bimmer or a Benz, its become way too common on the roads. A Volvo or a Jag on the other hand? Its a relative rarity.

Sukhe and Bohemia din’t help the cause either with their ‘Baby pehlan Jaguar lelo’

[TorqMaster]

For Indian roads i prefer Audi. Else where it is Acura.

Audi looks nice with all its straight lines etc.
Acura packs quite a punch with its capable AWD systems and luxury.

[v6kgang]

Voted for Mercedes. BMW was my first choice, until they started deleting the features one by one. I am in market for a SUV and was seriously considering X3. Recently a friend bought 330Li and took a couple of days to understand if all the claimed features are present in the car. I am now waiting for 2023 GLC to be launched in India to make the booking, if they don’t price it too high than the outgoing model.

[innqubus]

Ahh! A very difficult one to vote outright!
Luxury also has a hidden factor into it, exclusivity! You arrive in the ball of opulence and heads need to turn.
Considering the above, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo and Audi are eliminated. No doubt they provide you all the creature comforts the money can buy but with entry models seen profusely everywhere (including Tier-2 cities), I no longer find them desirable. BMW missed this list as their M/// packages have made it still a desirable enthusiast car for nouveau riche urban young. Of course, we have AMG, M, and RS versions but they are more on outright performance than luxury.
My holy trinity of luxury, exclusivity and performance are:
Porsche - They are nowhere VFM but again Porsche cares a damn about volume. They know the person driving a Macan or 911 Carrera can buy the next segment of an Audi or Merc. But again, I will turn my head more than an owl to see a Porsche whiz past me!
Land Rover- Throw the reliability factor out of the window. Filthy rich will upgrade to the new Range Rover just like an iPhone's new launch (they have stopped giving charger now but people will buy anyways). LR's Defender is a dream car for many (including me) Range Rover's Vogue, Autobiography is a wet dream for many too. Gen after gen, their designs are an eyegasm! Their supercharged V8? Let's keep that for some other day.
Bentley- This is the summit of lap of luxury (although people may argue with Rolls-Royce, Maybach). But for me car is also an extension of personality. Rolls-Royce, Maybach seem to give a perception of old filthy rich man's choice (although RR trying Black Badge etc.) but Bentley to me is a diamond laden brass knuckle . A head spinning concoction of beauty and brutality. Over that they have premium coach builders like Mulliner to add icing on the cake. Their murdered out Bentley Continental GT is both sick and dope!

So here we go, the wolves in the sheep's clothes, Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde or whatever usecase they want to adapt themselves to.

[Dr.Car]

Originally Posted by GTO

My first choice is BMW because of the best engine & gearbox combinations, pleasurable-to-drive nature & excellent reliability. My sole deal-breaker with the new BMWs is that ugly design direction with the weird radiator grilles at the front. Would find ways to fix it in the after-market (e.g. buy a black car and make the grille all black). That being said, all the BMWs I currently love (3, 5, M340i, X5) have grilles that haven't gotten obnoxious. Yet.

A very close second is Mercedes for the brand allure, styling, much improved engine & gearbox tuning and acceptable reliability.

Honestly though, I'd buy based on "car" rather than "brand". I don't blindly go for brands. E.g.

- Between the 3-Series (M340i) and C300d, I'd buy based on low or high running.

- Between the 5-Series & E-Class, I'd buy the 5-Series.

- Between the 7-Series & S-Class, I'd buy the S-Class.

- Between the X7 & GLS, I'd buy the GLS.

- EV, I'd go for the EQS. It blows any BMW EV out of the water.

- And so on. Cars from other brands that are my top choices include the A8 (Audi), Macan & Cayenne (Porsche) and Range Rover flagship (despite the reliability). For a variety of reasons, no current car from Volvo would make it to my garage, although I do respect how the brand has evolved. Ditto for Lexus, good cars, but not my type.

Well agree with you but what are your thoughts on X5 vs GLE which is also very frequently asked

[ritedhawan]

Voted for Porsche.
The choice is primarily based on my favorite car : The 2022 Porsche Panamera GTS V8. Something that I would like to own someday.

The inducement to choose Porsche is due to one of its offerings which is my favorite car, its reputation as one of the best handling car makers in the world, its audacity at one time to own VW, and more importantly one of its unique features : 'Rear-axle steering' which to me is quite a novelty:

https://presskit.porsche.de/specials...-steering.html

The feature is solely directed to augment or excel the handling features of the Panamera.

There are other features which are to my liking, like the smooth design language of the Panamera, the design language is consistent across other Porsche offerings. Specific to Panamera is the supple ride, the 8 speed PDK, humungous boot space, an everyday ride that can accommodate four people, beautiful interiors.

[Muthu25]

Porsche is on top of the game in all the segments it competes. I love the focus on the driving experience no matter what Porsche you choose. They make some of the best engines and are the only manufacturer still giving us naturally aspirated high-revving engines on their sports car with manual transmission. Their interior quality to me is undoubtedly better than the other germans. They nail the basics, like driving position steering wheel size and thickness, etc., but they are too expensive in India unfortunately.

I love BMWs and always will, their cars have excellent dynamics, and their engine lineup is some of the best in the business, I love the interior of modern BMWs, and much prefer them over Mercedes.

I like the Lexus LC500 (V8), and Lexus ES from their current lineup. Lexus LC500 has one of the best sounding engines, and an Amazing interior and exterior design, The quality of the interior in Lexus LC500 is amazing and to the standards of even higher segments.
The Lexus ES sedan looks great, feels lovely inside, is very comfortable, and has a tried and tested hybrid system. It is an overall great luxury sedan for those who are looking for a comfortable and reliable luxury sedan.

I love the Genesis design, both interior, and exterior, The Genesis GV70 interior wowed me the instant I looked at it, It looks so nice for its segment. Now with the EV future, they don't have the disadvantage of their mediocre combustion engine lineup, the future is looking very good for them.

Mazda is a new entrant into the luxury segment, with new Inline six and RWD platform cars coming in the future, I love the brand philosophies and design, and it would be interesting to see their new luxury cars that would launch this year.

[XDriver]

BMW it is for me. I own two of them. The quality of interiors, the driving experience, the design (except the large grilles) speak to me like no other! Next or one level up for me would be a Porsche!!

[Hayek]

Revealed preference - BMW. Have been very happy with the X3 - it drives brilliantly, service has been good even if my car has had its share of niggles. A car that never ceases to please.

But in various segments, I think a Mercedes competitor will do well. X3 vs GLC was a tough fight, the instrument cluster of the GLC was more modern but it lacked memory seats and boot space was less. Suspect the E Class would beat the current 5 hands down - my experience in both has been in the back seat of rentals, and Mercedes is much more comfortable. The S outclasses the 7 any day. The GLE beats the X5 in rear seat comfort, but I suspect the X5 will be much better to drive. And the X1 outclasses the GLA, as does the 3 LWB vs the C. For true luxury, there is nothing to beat Mercedes. But in my consideration set, it would be the BMWs - except if the Mercedes is materially cheaper.

Lexus is once again fantastic from the back seat - so if I ever get old and want to be chauffeured around (I drive my own car daily), perhaps it would become an alternate.

Volvos are good cars - but we know who owns the company - which puts them down my rankings.

LRs are not really luxury products - the Range Rovers are there but are over priced in India.

And Audi really needs to do something to justify its existence - they are too similar to the VWs and Skodas to justify the premium.