The 10 Best Compact Luxury Sedans to Buy Right Now
There was a time in automotive history when compact luxury sedans rained from the heavens and things were good. Drivers were out terrorizing beltways and byways in BMW E30s and Mercedes 190e 2.3-16s while many of us looked on in admiration. Those days are gone and now the compact crossover has largely replaced luxury compact sedans, but there are some few compact sedans still soldiering on, for the betterment of the motoring public. Let’s look at the best of them.
Our Best Compact Luxury Sedan Picks
—Best Overall: Mercedes C-Class
—Best Entry-Level Luxury: Acura Integra
—Best Looking: Alfa Romeo Giulia
—Best for Trim Options: Audi A3
—Best as a Compact Car: BMW 2 Series
—Best for Sporty Driving: BMW 3 Series
—Best for on a Budget: Cadillac CT4
—Best for Comfort: Genesis G70
—Best Value: Lexus IS
—Best Hybrid: Volvo S60
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Best Overall: Mercedes C-Class
The C-Class has long been the yin to the 3 Series’ yang. It’s always felt a little more luxurious, a little less sporty, and, in its high-performance trims, less like a scalpel and more like a battle axe. Sometimes it’s better, sometimes it’s slightly worse but it’s always different. The current C-Class is phenomenal, with Mercedes’ typically subdued exterior styling and interior tech and styling that swings for the fences, though the entry price reflects that.
The base C300 is powered by a mild hybrid 2-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine that makes a reasonable 255 horsepower. That is paired with rear- or available all-wheel drive. There is also an AMG-lite version in the C43 which offers a rowdier four-cylinder engine making 402 hp and 369 pound-feet of torque. Regrettably, the hellacious V8-powered C63 models of days past are gone, but at some point, you should be able to buy a plug-in hybrid four-cylinder C63 with a staggering 671 horsepower, but no V8 noise.
The base C300 starts at $48,100 including destination. The C43 goes for $62,450, making it a less thrilling value proposition compared to things like the Lexus IS 500.
Best Entry-Level Luxury: 2024 Acura Integra
The reborn Acura Integra is no longer the doorstop-shaped VTEC ripper people know and love from the 1990s, but what it’s become is a wildly competent, fun-to-drive luxury compact that both is available with a manual transmission in its more sensible standard form and in its rip-roaring 320 horsepower Type S trim with drivetrain from the Civic Type R.
Now, you might be saying that Acura is “entry-level” luxury and that’s not wrong but we’d bet that the epic ELS stereo and excellent build quality will win many people over. Also notable are the Integra’s sharp styling and even sharper front-wheel drive handling. Nobody does front wheel drive like Honda and that’s apparent here.
Pricing for the Integra starts at an eminently reasonable $32,995 including a $1,195 destination fee. The Type S will put a slightly bigger dent in your pocketbook with a starting price of $52,995.
Best Looking: Alfa Romeo Giulia
Not to be overly cliche, but wow, the Giulia is a looker. It’s also flawed, but so is Michaelangelo’s David, so who are we to criticize? Seriously though, if you can deal with the justifiably questionable reliability, what you get when you get a Giulia is style. Also if you get the Quadrifoglio, you get a simply epic Ferrari-derived twin-turbo V6 engine.
Other pluses for the Giulia include a good infotainment system courtesy of its corporate parents at Stellantis and some killer lease deals — even Alfa’s online configurator defaults to lease prices, so they know.
Still, if you want to throw good sense to the wind and buy one, the base Giulia Sprint will run you $43,340 with its 280-horsepower four-cylinder engine and rear-wheel drive. Stepping up to the apex predator variant, the Quadrifoglio will cost you significantly more, at an eye-watering $83,415 but that nets you 505 horsepower and one of the great V6 engine notes.
Best Trim Options: Audi RS3
The Audi A4 has reached the end of the road after 30 years, meaning that if you’re in the market for a compact sedan and need it hale from Ingolstadt your only option is the A3. Thankfully, that’s not a bad thing at all.
The German marque’s smallest four-door—8.65 feet bumper-to-bumper—may seem a tad basic at first, but it can more than hold its own. The standard, front-wheel-drive version of the sedan comes with a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that makes 201 hp, while the all-wheel-drive S3 adds a turbocharger that helps boost output to 306 hp. The most impressive version is the high-performance the RS3 model, though. It packs a twin-turbocharged 2.5-liter five-cylinder under its hood, as well as the company’s quattro all-wheel-drive system. The engine may have one less cylinder than most of the other mills on this list, but it still pumps out a respectable 401 hp and 369 ft lbs of torque, more than enough oomph to push it from zero to 60 mph in 3.6 seconds. This version of the car also features reverse staggered wheels, which are guaranteed to turn heads in traffic.
The base A3 will run you $36,895 in front-wheel drive trim. The all-wheel-drive S3 starts at $48,495 and the RS 3 goes for a whopping $63,395.
Best as a Compact Car: BMW 2 Series
When BMW’s 2 Series was introduced, it felt like a bit of a balm for what BMW had become. Its cars had become larger, more expensive, more complicated and their styling was more polarizing. Unlike the 1 Series that came before it, the 2 Series was offered in both a two-door and a four-door configuration under the “Gran Coupe” moniker which is essentially BMW for “curvy sedan.” It is small (for a modern car) but carries the torch for BMW enthusiasts in a few ways.
First, it doesn’t have the grille of the 3 and 4 Series. That’s a big one. Next, its small size makes it more nimble, lighter, and easier to park. All good things for the sporty urbane Bimmer buyer. The 2 Series Gran Coupe also doesn’t get any of the rowdiness of the M2 but you can’t have everything. For those with such intentions, the M235i xDrive is probably your best bet here.
The base 228i Gran Coupe will set you back a very un-BMW $39,395 including destination. If you want the all-wheel drive xDrive variant, that price goes up by $2,000. The hottest four-door 2 series starts at $49,295.
Best for Sporty Driving: BMW 3 Series
The BMW 3 Series is the original compact luxury sedan and while it’s changed significantly since its inception in the 1980s, it’s still one hell of a choice for someone wanting to blur the lines between sporty and luxurious. True, this generation has a face that only a German engineer could love, but the rest of the styling inside and out is great. The cabin is comfy and well laid out if typically BMW spartan.
Powertrain options go from mild to wild fairly quickly. If you just want something chic and reasonably economical to motor around in, then the 255-horsepower 330i is the car for you. It’s rear-wheel drive, as all the best Bimmers are and what you give up in raw power, you get back in mpg with BMW claiming 34 mpg highway.
If you’re a mid-tier executive with a penchant for canyon carving, then the M3 Competition is available and friends, it is one hell of a ride. It’s got a 503-hp turbocharged inline six-cylinder engine and a sub-four-second 0-60 time. You can get it with a good automatic transmission or a manual (for now). It’s also available in a down-tuned 473 hp version for people concerned about the number of points on their license.
The base 3 Series starts at $45,495 including destination while the non-Competition M3 goes for $76,995. Want the Competition version? Be prepared to shell out an additional $4,200 for the rear-drive variant or $8,300 more for the all-wheel drive xDrive.
Best on a Budget: 2024 Cadillac CT4-V
Cadillac’s compact CT4 sedan often gets overlooked in favor of its bigger, meaner sibling, the CT5 – particularly in the snarling, fire-breathing V8-powered V Blackwing trim. Comparatively, even the most potent version of the CT4 has to make do with a twin-turbo V6, albeit one that makes 476 horsepower but the CT4 has more to offer than just its four- and six-cylinder drivetrains. It’s actually a handsome little sedan with typically sharp Caddy exterior styling and a slightly dated, if comfortable interior.
The real hook for buyers when it comes to the CT4, though, is the price. The base Luxury trim of the standard CT4 starts at just $35,990, and that’s before you start looking at all the incentives that US car brands love throwing at buyers. Even the CT4-V Blackwing only starts at $62,890, including destination fees.
Best for Comfort: Genesis G70
The Genesis G70 started out as the fancy cousin to the super wonderful Kia Stinger. Since then, though, it’s become its own thing and today it’s a handsome, quick car that offers a ton of luxury features for a reasonable price compared to its European competition.
The base model comes with a 2.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine producing 300 horsepower and which is paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission. The 3.3-liter V6 model has a surprisingly potent-feeling 365 horsepower and is paired with the same transmission. It’s available in all or rear-wheel drive.
Pricing for the G70 starts at $42,750 for the base 2.5T model with rear-wheel drive. Adding all-wheel drive tacks on an extra $2,100 to that. A loaded V6 model with an all-wheel drive version is still only going to ask for 57,700 of your dollars, and friend, that ain’t bad.
Best Value: Lexus IS
The Lexus IS is what you buy when you want the least problematic luxury ownership experience possible. Everything from the dealership purchase experience to service is designed to be as easy and painless as possible, but, be warned, this is a gateway drug to repeat Lexus purchases. Sure, you’re young and cool and buy a rowdy little IS 500 in Grecian Water to start, but before long you’re contemplating RXs and even RZs and your hair is gray and you spend upwards of 12 hours a week worrying about your pension.
Seriously though, Lexus has its reputation for a reason. They’re among the best-built luxury cars you can buy and if you can get over the IS’s dated interior, you could do a lot worse in the compact luxury sedan segment. The base IS 300 RWD gets a 241-horsepower turbocharged four-cylinder engine and a really nice interior clad in Lexus’ not-leather Nuluxe.
If you want slightly more excitement, the top-tier IS 500 gives you a similar experience but with the much-loved naturally aspirated 5-liter 472-hp V8 and more aggressive styling and suspension tuning. Not exactly super aggressive, just more aggressive. The engine is the real showpiece here and V8s like this are becoming rarer, so get while the getting is good.
The base IS 300 will run you $41,235 while the IS 500 starts at $60,520 but you really want the IS 500 F Sport Premium which starts at $64,520 and comes with the 17-speaker Mark Levinson stereo. It’s one of the best things Lexus has going for it, as a brand.
Best Hybrid: Volvo S60
Volvo, like basically every other brand, isn’t putting a great deal of effort into its non-SUV and non-electric platforms. This is true of the S60 as well as the S90, but the S60 still has a lot going for it. First, it’s almost achingly pretty, just like the rest of the Volvo lineup. Next, it’s only available in the 455-horsepower T8 Recharge plug-in hybrid trim, which is pretty dang good if not as thrilling as that power figure would lead you to believe. Lastly, it’s not crazy expensive compared to the rest of the class.
Sure the interior is feeling a little old, and the infotainment system isn’t the best in the business, but the seats are uber comfortable and the cabin is a relaxing place to be. Plus you’re not going to look like some kind of nouveau-middle-management try-hard when you pull up to the valet stand at El Coyote. That’s worth something. You might look like a dentist, but at least you’ll look like a cool dentist.
The base S60 T8 Recharge starts at $53,145 and is reasonably well-equipped. Even loaded, the S60 doesn’t break the bank at $59,045 and that includes buttery soft Nappa leather.
