Leading the field was Porsche, which got the most votes, followed by Lexus in second and Mercedes-Benz in third. According to the researchers, Mercedes-Benz lost a lot of its status following during its partnership with Chrysler and doesn’t share the same appeal with younger, performance-oriented luxury-car buyers that Porsche enjoys.
BMW ranked fourth, Jaguar fifth, and Lincoln was last of the 12 brands covered, in terms of overall status. BMW’s rank has fallen in recent years because a lot of respondents have been turned off by the carmaker’s styling of late, explained Luxury Institute CEO Milton Pedraza.
Those who rated the brands most favorably tended to be males over the age of 55, with average household income between $150,000 and $300,000, and net worth under $1 million. Lexus was the luxury brand the largest group of respondents (14.4%) said they would consider for their next purchase. It was also rated the best for customer experience.