What's The Best Luxury Car Ever Built?

Photo: BMW

I’ve been back visiting my parents recently, which is always a great chance to catch up with my brothers, hang out with my niece and nephews and sleep in a twin bed with terrible pillows for a few days. It also gives me the chance to spend a little time with my E39 BMW 540i they’re storing for me. I love that car, but unfortunately for me, it’s 25 years old, and the city isn’t a place for German cars to grow old.

2024 BMW 530i xDrive | First Drive

I’m also still convinced it’s one of the best cars ever made. Everyone wants the M5, and while I can admit they have a point, it’s not like it makes that much of a difference in daily driving. Sure, it’s a little torquier, and it makes more horsepower, but it’s not that much more. You’re mostly paying all that extra money for the quad exhaust and the M badges.

Am I just coping with the fact that I couldn’t afford an M5 more than a decade ago when I bought it? Perhaps. It’s also not my fault I fell in love with my 540i. It has a manual and the sport suspension, and the whole thing is just so damn good. Suspension settings? Forget it. It has the correct suspension. Infotainment? If you count the CD player, I guess. It’s just so fun to drive and also much more comfortable on long drives than I expected.

At the same time, though, I know there are many much more luxurious cars out there. It may be the only luxury car I’ve ever owned, but there’s a whole world of comfort out there, just waiting to be explored. So I’m curious. What would you say is the best luxury car ever made?