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The once standard belief a luxury car was defined by price is no longer valid. The current average price of a new car in the United States, slightly more than $29,000, is also slightly less than the former $30,000 launching point for a luxury vehicle.
More pertinent today for a vehicle to be considered a luxury car are its features, comfortable interior to smooth ride to quality lists of option packages.
Which is why CNNMoney.com has listed the Buick Regal, Hyundai Sonata, Ford Taurus, Kia Optima, Subaru Legacy and Chrysler 300 as 2011 cars it calls “budget luxury.”
The site describes the Buick Regal (turbo), priced at $28,745, as “an enviable balance between laid-back smoothness and gutsy performance.”
The CNNMoney.com list, with basic information:
Buick Regal (Turbo), price: $28,745; mpg, 18 city/28 hwy. Hyundai Sonata, price: $19,395-$27,245; mpg, 24 city/35 hwy. Ford Taurus, price: $25,355-$37,955; mpg, 18 city/28 hwy. Kia Optima, price: $18,995-$25,995l mpg, 24 city/35 hwy. Subaru Legacy, price: $19,995-$31,395; mpg, 19 city/27 hwy. Chrysler 300, price: $27,170-$31-170
To read furthers descriptions of CNNMoney.com’s descriptions, visit: Budget Luxury Cars
Article Last Updated: May 1, 2026.
James Raia
A sports, travel and business journalist for more than 45 years, James has written the new car review column The Weekly Driver since 2004. In addition to founding this site in 2004, James writes a Sunday automotive column for The San Jose Mercury and East Bay Times in Walnut Creek, Calif., and monthly auto review and wellness columns for Gulfshore Business, a magazine in Southwest Florida. An author and contributor to many newspapers, magazines and online publications, co-hosted The Weekly Driver Podcast from 2017 to 2024.