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People who buy a luxury car are those who have attained a certain amount of success and status in their life, and the cars themselves are often seen as status symbols. For some people, the appearance of wealth and success is as important as the money or power itself, and in some careers, appearance is everything. For 2009, luxury cars have many new features that have been seldom seen before. There are a few models that are more popular than others, but the top models are among the most expensive in the class. The top-rated luxury cars on the market are an excellent balance of performance and luxury, and thankfully the car designers have focused largely on providing the best experience possible for their drivers.
What Buyers Should Look For
Before purchasing a luxury car, there are a few things that need to be considered. If budget is a major concern, less expensive models are available, and one doesn’t need to spend $200,000 to get a great luxury car. Offerings from Cadillac and other mid-priced luxury cars are among the most popular and reliable in their class. However, the more expensive models do offer handcrafted construction, exceptionally high quality audio options, and very powerful engines. New luxury car models provide their drivers with luxury and options that were unheard of even 10 years ago. Features include built-in radar systems, which allow the car’s cruise control system to accelerate and decelerate to keep a set distance from the vehicle in front of you during highway driving. Many cars offer this feature, but they typically offer only the ability to apply light amounts of braking and acceleration. The high-end luxury cars, such as models from Mercedes, offer the ability to brake the car to a complete stop, and after the car in front begins moving again, the system applies acceleration to maintain the same distance to the same vehicle in front of your car. Of course, these are only a few options, and the top luxury cars literally have hundreds of features and options that are available.
Audi A8 L
The 2009 Audi A8 L is one of the most popular luxury cars on the market. The A8 L features a natural leather interior and real wood inlays. Unlike some luxury interiors in new cars, the A8 provides passengers with the option to customize a much large range of options. The rear passenger cabin offers significantly more legroom than similar models in the same size class, because the car itself offers a much larger wheelbase than comparable models. The A8 offers a 450 horsepower 6.0-liter engine with the proprietary Audi Quattro all-wheel-drive system. The A8 L offers a 14 speaker enhanced Bose surround sound system, and includes a microphone that measures background noise generated in the car, and adjusts the stereo’s volume to compensate for increased road noise that passengers may notice on rough roads.
Jaguar XF Supercharged
The 2009 Jaguar XF Supercharged is rapidly becoming one of the most popular luxury car options on the road. The upgraded suspension allows the car to ride more smoothly, and the car dynamically adjusts the suspension stiffness to compensate for speed and enhance the ride handling. The Jaguar XF Supercharged offers a supercharged V8 engine, which produces 420 horsepower and 413 lb-ft of torque. That means that the car is extremely powerful from a dead stop, and the traction control system keeps wheel-spin at a minimum, making 0-60 times blisteringly fast. The XF Supercharged provides the driver with heated and cooled seating, and the seating is controlled separately from the in-cabin climate control. That allows passengers to adjust their seats to their own liking, and customers can even have a warm cabin with the heat running, and a cool seat to keep their body at a comfortable temperature. The reverse is certainly true, as well.
Mercedes-Benz S Class 550
The Mercedes-Benz S Class 500 remains one of the most popular of luxury automobiles. The 382 horsepower 5.5-liter V8 engine produces enough torque to drive the car from 0-60 in under 6 seconds, and the S Class offers a number of features that other cars largely lack. As mentioned, the car’s Adaptive Cruise Control System uses 2 onboard radar receivers to sample surrounding vehicles and applies either accelerator or brake to maintain a set distance from the vehicle in front of the car. The Adaptive Cruise Control System can even bring the car a complete stop, hold station, then accelerate the car again to maintain that set distance from the vehicle in front. The S Class also offers blind spot assistance that provides both visual and audio queues when a vehicle enters the driver’s blind spot. The S Class also has a parking assistance system, which uses radar systems to allow the driver to more easily park the car efficiently. The S Class provides the driver with an excellent driving experience, and the car itself automatically adjusts the ride quality and suspension to best take advantage of the speed and power that the car can bring to bear for given road conditions. The S Class detects tire slippage and other problems and dynamically adjusts the car’s braking and power settings to each wheel. This makes the car extremely stable on all types of road surfaces and provides the driver with heretofore unheard of control and handling.
Regardless of the car that a prospective buyer considers, the fact is that any of the top rated luxury cars of 2009 will be an excellent choice. There are no bad choices among the top cars in the class, and the ultimate decision will come down to which features the buyer wants. When quality doesn’t have to be a consideration, the buyer is free to make their purchases to maximize their enjoyment.
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