Car and Drivers Big Buck bargains

For most people, 50 grand is a lot to shell out for a car. We drop that kind of coin, we expect a lot: a lot of luxury, a lot of technology, a lot of performance, preferably, a lot of all of that stuff. But as is usually the case with luxury items of any variety, the price premium is seldom matched by a commensurate level of bonus features, heightened performance, or other tangible benefits. To the contrary, when it comes to luxury goods, there’s usually an inverse correlation between price and content, as value takes a back seat to more subjective rewards like beauty, exclusivity, prestige, and, of course, brand name as prices climb higher.

Still, even among those that do have $50,000, $75,000, or more to spend on their next car, few are keen on senselessly throwing that money away—especially those who have worked very hard to earn their money in the first place. Fortunately, there are several automobiles in the luxury segment which actually do offer the spoils to match the expenditure.

In fact, in some cases, they offer more—a lot more—some with so much cool stuff that they not only compare very favorably to other vehicles in their price bracket, but they also out-run, out-perform, or out-pamper far more expensive automobiles.

Here, then, is a group of five $50,000 to $60,000 automobiles that we at Car and Driver find mighty impressive for the money, and which have proven even more compelling when put side-by-side with some of their much more expensive—but not much better—counterparts.

Read about them here