QOTD: Best All-round Midsize Luxury Sedans in 2020?

Corey Lewis
by Corey Lewis

We continued the QOTD sedan series last week, with 2020’s best all-round small luxury sedans. Today we head up a size class and focus on luxurious midsizers. As you might expect, the field of contenders shrinks a bit this time.

As before, we’ll use a U.S. News classification (plus a couple) to determine our list of midsize luxury sedans. And like before, the list will contain only sedans with four real doors and a trunk, as well as a premium badge.

Acura TLX


Audi A6


BMW 5 Series


Cadillac CT5


Genesis G80


Infiniti Q70


Jaguar XF


Lexus ES


Lexus GS


Lincoln MKZ


Maserati Ghibli


Mercedes-Benz E-Class


Volvo S90

Thirteen cars in total, and you’d be forgiven if you thought a couple of these disappeared a year or two ago (like the MKZ, XF, and Q70). One of these entries, the CT5, is brand new. Others, like the three just mentioned, are sorta on their last legs. And the Ghibli was an add-on which our source publication neglected to rate. So what’s left? What’s the desirable all-rounder in this declining segment?

I’ve got to pick the E-Class here. Though the sedan is our topic today, it’s also available in other body styles. It has a few different engines on offer, plus various bits of trim and tune which range from expensive to good grief. It’s a quality-made item, passing the prestige test by standing above such riffraff lease specials as the CLA/GLA/A.

Your dentist might drive an E-Class; it’s respectable. Other entries in the segment have big faults. Glancing through, the GS is too old and due for retirement, the S90 seems built to last the length of a lease, and the TLX feels special in exactly zero ways. I think E-Class is the way to win at best all-round midsize luxury car in 2020.

Care to disagree?

[Images: Daimler, Infiniti]

Corey Lewis
Corey Lewis

Interested in lots of cars and their various historical contexts. Started writing articles for TTAC in late 2016, when my first posts were QOTDs. From there I started a few new series like Rare Rides, Buy/Drive/Burn, Abandoned History, and most recently Rare Rides Icons. Operating from a home base in Cincinnati, Ohio, a relative auto journalist dead zone. Many of my articles are prompted by something I'll see on social media that sparks my interest and causes me to research. Finding articles and information from the early days of the internet and beyond that covers the little details lost to time: trim packages, color and wheel choices, interior fabrics. Beyond those, I'm fascinated by automotive industry experiments, both failures and successes. Lately I've taken an interest in AI, and generating "what if" type images for car models long dead. Reincarnating a modern Toyota Paseo, Lincoln Mark IX, or Isuzu Trooper through a text prompt is fun. Fun to post them on Twitter too, and watch people overreact. To that end, the social media I use most is Twitter, @CoreyLewis86. I also contribute pieces for Forbes Wheels and Forbes Home.

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  • Inside Looking Out Inside Looking Out on Jan 08, 2020

    I am very happy with my AWD 2018 Fusion Titanium (second in the row so I am very consistent). I do not see what cars from that list of yours may bring to the table except of much higher price, bloody terrible depreciation and expensive and frequent repairs. So no, thank you - you can keep them. But if you put gun to my head, well then I would take...I would rather die than waste all that money.

  • Cbrworm Cbrworm on Jan 09, 2020

    I've driven most of these. If long-term reliability/maintenance costs are not a factor, the A6 6cyl mild hybrid (I don't remember their term) drives incredibly well and has an interior that feels like the future. The 5 series BMW is really well sorted car that drives well, even if it isn't the ultimate driving machine any longer. If ownership cost is a concern, the Genesis and Infiniti both are in a strange land of being the perfect buick, if that is what you are looking for. I would be more inclined to spend my money on the Lexus GS, edging out the TLX, primarily due to RWD and preferable styling. The Modern E-class has a great looking interior, but if feels cramped to me compared to the others, I also don't like the high gauge panel. The Ghibli is the only car I haven't driven, but it doesn't really appeal to me.

  • CanadaCraig VOTE NO VW!
  • Joe This is called a man in the middle attack and has been around for years. You can fall for this in a Starbucks as easily as when you’re charging your car. Nothing new here…
  • AZFelix Hilux technical, preferably with a swivel mount.
  • ToolGuy This is the kind of thing you get when you give people faster internet.
  • ToolGuy North America is already the greatest country on the planet, and I have learned to be careful about what I wish for in terms of making changes. I mean, if Greenland wants to buy JDM vehicles, isn't that for the Danes to decide?
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