QOTD: The Best All-round Large Luxury Sedan in 2020?

Corey Lewis
by Corey Lewis

We’ve finally made it to the top. Today marks the last entry in the QOTD sedan series, in which we discuss the few options available to the large luxury sedan buyer in 2020.

Pick a best all-rounder, even if you can’t afford it.

Cars on the list below are sourced via U.S. News and other places, and all fall in the large luxury car class. Limiters placed on the list include a luxury or premium badge, doors numbering four, and a real trunk (sorry, Audi A7). Let’s have a look:

Acura RLX


Audi A8


BMW 7 Series


Cadillac CT6


Genesis G90


Lexus LS


Lincoln Continental


Maserati Quattroporte


Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class


Mercedes-Benz S-Class

Notably absent from this list are the Jaguar XJ and Infiniti’s Q70L, both of which were executed after the 2019 model year. The XJ will be back, the long-wheelbase Q70 (and soon the regular one) are likely finished in this market. Checking out the 11 remaining entries, the clear all-round winner couldn’t be more obvious.

It’s the Genesis G90. Reworked for the 2020 model year, this large sedan does things the traditional way. Power delivered to the rear, and six or eight cylinders at the front. All-wheel drive is an option, but the best way to go is with the 5.0-liter Ultimate trim in rear-drive. It’ll set you back $75,700, which is a relative bargain among the real luxury contenders in this segment. There’s no long wheelbase available domestically, and its 204.7 inches of length falls mid-pack among competitors. The big engine provides 419 naturally aspirated horses and 383 pound-feet of torque. Other highlights of this revised version include excellent lace alloys and an LED heckblende around the back.

What’s your pick for best all-round luxury full-sizer?

[Images: Audi, Genesis]

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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  • HotPotato HotPotato on Jan 17, 2020

    Tesla Model S. Let's be real.

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    • Volvo Volvo on Jan 18, 2020

      @HotPotato Yep! it really matters where you live. Certainly in the SF bay area the current luxury car du jour is the Tesla S. If you have a mountain cabin then there may be a Sequoia in the garage. If they don't want to be ostentatious then I have seen this demographic driving a high trim Camry or Avalon hybrid.

  • Fleuger99 Fleuger99 on Jan 29, 2020

    The Genesis G90 looks terrible. The headlights look like Volvo copies, the rear looks like the old Infiniti Q45 and we won't mention the 90's wheels design. No way I'd ever pay $70K plus on this.

  • Jeff Self driving cars are not ready for prime time.
  • Lichtronamo Watch as the non-us based automakers shift more production to Mexico in the future.
  • 28-Cars-Later " Electrek recently dug around in Tesla’s online parts catalog and found that the windshield costs a whopping $1,900 to replace.To be fair, that’s around what a Mercedes S-Class or Rivian windshield costs, but the Tesla’s glass is unique because of its shape. It’s also worth noting that most insurance plans have glass replacement options that can make the repair a low- or zero-cost issue. "Now I understand why my insurance is so high despite no claims for years and about 7,500 annual miles between three cars.
  • AMcA My theory is that that when the Big 3 gave away the store to the UAW in the last contract, there was a side deal in which the UAW promised to go after the non-organized transplant plants. Even the UAW understands that if the wage differential gets too high it's gonna kill the golden goose.
  • MKizzy Why else does range matter? Because in the EV advocate's dream scenario of a post-ICE future, the average multi-car household will find itself with more EVs in their garages and driveways than places to plug them in or the capacity to charge then all at once without significant electrical upgrades. Unless each vehicle has enough range to allow for multiple days without plugging in, fighting over charging access in multi-EV households will be right up there with finances for causes of domestic strife.
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