6 Best New Cars for the Upper Middle Class

[Pelican Press 0]

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

6 Best New Cars for the Upper Middle Class

Ridofranz / Getty Images/iStockphoto

According to a USA Today analysis of SSA wage data, upper-middle-class households earn between $80,000 and $100,000 yearly. That type of

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

buys a whole lot of cars, but not too much — especially since expensive vehicles tend to have expensive long-term ownership costs.

Check Out:

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

Read Next:

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

Those in the top tier of the middle class can spread their wings a little when shopping for a new car, but money is still an object.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==

dima_sidelnikov / Getty Images/iStockphoto

The ‘******* Troika’

William Green is an entrepreneurial website developer, publisher and literature aficionado who spent 10 years building the poetry database

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

.

While poetry is his passion, he’s an automotive engineer by trade who “has spent years getting his hands greasy in the hallowed halls of McLaren before transitioning to the consultancy realm and has witnessed automotive evolution across every price point.”

For You:

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

Try This:

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

He worked as a transmission control engineer at Ricardo, a vehicle validation coordinator at McLaren, and a control and simulation engineer at Contract Innovation, earning a master’s in automotive engineering in 2018.

For Green, upper-middle-class buyers should focus on a trio of entry-level luxury cars that he affectionately calls “the ******* troika” — and his love of poetry shines through when he describes them.

Earning passive income doesn’t need to be difficult.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==

©Audi

Audi A4

The

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

is a four-door luxury vehicle that starts at $41,900 and is within reach of the upper-middle class. It also gets 30 combined mpg and has

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

RepairPal rating for maintenance and repair costs, which means its long-term ownership costs won’t drain your wallet over time.

Explore More:

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

Like all three vehicles in the ******* troika, Green says the A4 offers “a delectable blend of sporty handling dynamics that’ll have you carving corners like a hot ****** through butter, complemented by interior environs that ooze luxury.”

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==

Fabian Kirchbauer / BMW AG

BMW 3-Series

Billed as “the sports sedan that started it all,” the BMW 3-Series starts at $44,500.

The price is only slightly higher than the Audi, but unlike the A4, which has just two configurations under the hood, the more customizable 3-Series offers “a cornucopia of engine options that run the gamut from fuel-sipping eco-warriors to bent-eight banshees that’ll pin you back in your sculpted leather seats and elicit inadvertent giggles,” said Green.

Story continues

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==

©Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz C-Class

The name Mercedes-Benz has been synonymous with luxury for generations, and the powerful, potent and pretty

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

lives up to that tradition.

“We’re talking premium materials caressed by a designer’s loving touch and attention to detail that’ll make your neighbors green with envy,” said Green.

Starting at $46,950, it represents another rung up on the budgetary ladder but is still manageable for many upper-middle-class earners. And the C-Class shares another trait with both other members of the ******* Troika — tortoise-crawl depreciation.

“Did I mention their stellar resale values?” said Green. “This is an investment that’ll keep on giving.”

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==

©BMW USA

BMW i4

While the market has welcomed several affordable EVs in recent years, electric vehicles are still more expensive, on average, and higher-end models remain out of reach to most middle-class families. But those who earn a little more have the perfect opportunity to convert.

“For upper-middle-class buyers, I would recommend going electric,” said Ben Michael, director of auto at the

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

law firm.

But if you have the means, don’t settle for just any EV.

Discover More:

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

“If you want something that’s got some serious power and luxury, but is still drivable regularly, consider the

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

,” said Michael. “BMW has been trying to get the high-end EV model right for a while. The i8 was a disaster, but they’ve learned from their mistakes. The i4 is built on a tried-and-true power train platform borrowed from the 4-Series, but it’s vastly more powerful and luxurious than those models.”

The i4 starts at $52,200, which isn’t cheap, and according to Consumer Reports, it doesn’t qualify for the

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

. However, its long-term ownership costs can pay you back — BMW estimates i4 owners will save $4,807 in fuel costs over five years.

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==

©Ford

Ford F-150

When you make more than the average earner, you get more vehicle choices than the average buyer.

“The nice thing about being upper-middle class is that most new cars are actually targeted at that market, so you have lots of options,” said Zander Cook, co-founder of

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

, an automotive fintech platform helping drivers pay off their leases and purchase their vehicles.

But the best car of all for this income bracket might just be a truck.

“I personally love F-150s,” said Cook. “They are the smoothest ride of any truck on the road and you can enjoy all of the sweet luxury features, too.”

America’s

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

for 47 years and best-selling vehicle of any kind for 42 years, the

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

has eight trim options between $36,770 and $78,330. If you’re interested in going electric, the

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

offers a ninth option starting at $49,995.

Most of those packages are beyond the reach of average earners, but the upper-middle class has room to explore.

More From GOBankingRates

This article originally appeared on

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

:

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

#Cars #Upper #Middle #Class

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up