Luxury Cars Without the Flash: 9 Brands With Quiet Luxury in its Lineup

If you read that and thought, “Now wait a minute—Genesis is a luxury brand,” you’d be right. It’s Hyundai’s luxury division, but we classify Genesis as a stealth luxury brand because not many people know Genesis even exists. In fact, Genesis owners are borderline cult-ish, because they don’t want their well-kept secret getting out.

The GV80, for instance, is one of Genesis’ secret weapons. It can be configured to be all-wheel drive and have almost 400 horsepower for just over $80,000 (but the starting price is $58,200, making it incredibly versatile). You can choose between two excellent engines, too.

The Sport mode pushes the bolsters in the driver’s seat into your sides to cradle you, which was a feature that only cars with six-figure prices had. Genesis looks at those who spent that kind of money and laughs maniacally. Other Genesis owners do, too.

It’s comfortable, roomy, and the interior comes with quilted leather, responsive and intuitive tech, a boomin’ sound system, a snow mode that includes rear-wheel steering, a gigantic sunroof, and unique styling for the price is nearly unheard of.

The GV80 Coupe is an excellent alternative for even more luxury, but at a higher cost. Even at the top of the line, it still comes ahead of other luxury SUVs from better-known brands.

We’re making the same argument we did with Genesis here. Yes, it’s the established luxury division of Honda, but Acura does an excellent job of separating itself from Honda. After all, two sisters from the same family can be incredibly different, right? Apply that logic to parent automakers and their luxury divisions.

Anyway, Acura is a brand that looks over when shopping for premium SUVs, sedans, or sports sedans. From the hunkered Integra to the more luxurious MDX, there isn’t an Acura we’ve sat in and didn’t think, “Wow, what you get for the price is pretty on-par.”

For instance, Acura’s newest ADX (based on Honda’s HR-V) is the brand’s first entry-level SUV. It comes with a unique orchid interior color option, a beautiful sound system from Bang & Olufsen, four drive modes that are wonderfully tuned to the CVT, great visibility, user-friendly creature comforts and driver controls, and Google’s OS.

The ADX has a starting price of $35,000, too, making it an extremely accessible premium SUV for a wide variety of buyers. We also loved the ZDX (both the gas and electric versions), and the RDX.

Volvo puzzles a lot of people. More often than not, when I mention Volvo as a luxury brand, half the people I speak with have to Google whether or not the company categorizes itself as such. Volvo is one of the few companies that still offer a true wagon in its lineup, and of course, we loved it.

Volvo’s come a long way from the boxy days, but one important thing was carried over: the reputation for safety. The Swedish company still boasts a consistently high safety rating, and has often announced safety-related tech that inspired other companies (like the rear seat radar detector that can detect heartbeats to prevent drivers from leaving babies or animals in the car).

So far, there hasn’t been a Volvo that we didn’t like. We loved the XC90, the S90, XC60, and V90 Cross Country—which is the car our darling Sara Lacey is posing with.

Prices range depending on the model, but base model prices range from $41,945 to $81,290.

Lincoln always had a reputation for luxury at relatively low prices. We’d bet you had (or maybe still have) a relative who fondly remembers driving a Lincoln. If you’ve ever heard the phrase, “Riding like a Lincoln,” that’s thanks to it being one of the most comfortable cars on the road.

That remains true today. The Navigator is a land yacht, but it features everything there is to love about yachts—comfort, space, a luxurious interior, incredible passenger comfort, and almost gimmicky (but still cool) features.

One of our favorite features was the addition of a “Digital Scent” feature. Essentially, it’s a customizable in-cabin scent diffuser “designed to inspire a feeling of relaxation and revitalization.” Think incense, but in your car.

The Navigator may be based on the Expedition, but it’s no Ford. Starting price is $99,995, and can go up to $116,495 if you opt for the Black Label edition.

Infiniti has always been a brand that not many associate with ultimate luxury, but Nissan’s luxury division has several cars that will shock you. The QX80 is the brand’s largest SUV, but comes with everything Infiniti has to offer—like a premium, leather interior, high-resolution and responsive driver controls, customization options galore, and a plethora of touch screens.

It’s a car that starts at $82,450 and goes well north of $100,000, but it feels and drives like it costs a lot more. The third row is spacious, fairly comfortable, and has everything third-row passengers would ever need.

The QX60, QX55, and QX50 were all cars we loved due to the undercover luxury at a fraction of the cost of leading luxury or sports brands. If you want something reliable, beautiful, and lusciously fancy, take a look at Infiniti’s lineup.

Polestar is a relatively new EV maker, but you wouldn’t have guessed that once you’ve sat in the driver’s seat. The company was originally a division of Volvo, and the influence is easy to see.

The interior of every Polestar we’ve tested is made from premium materials, the touch screens are incredibly responsive and gorgeous, the seats are comfortable, and it comes with high-end technology—some models don’t even have rear windows, only cameras!

Polestar’s EV prices float around $68,000, which is on par with competing luxury and performance EVs, but the company is a fairly well-kept secret.

Hear me out on this one: most people wouldn’t put “luxury” and “Jeep” in the same sentence nowadays unless they’re talking about the Wagoneer or Grand Wagoneer, but it’s true. If we think back to the days of the original Grand Cherokee, the concept was to make a luxurious SUV that shared the same off-road capabilities as the Wrangler.

It went up to bat with SUVs like the Toyota Land Cruiser and the Land Rover Discovery, which was designed for wealthy people who needed an SUV that could tow their boat to the lake house, while still being able to handle a surprise spring snow storm.

The 4xe Summit Reserve was all that and more. While prices float around the same as the very same competitors (think around $68,000 to $75,000 depending on the add-ons), it has one of the best interiors of the segment.

The off-road features are incredible, the technology is intuitive and user-friendly, the sound system is incredible, and it was very comfortable when not in use, while my experience with the other two left more to be desired. Plus, it’s a PHEV, which allowed me to get all of my chores around town done in EV mode.

As a bonus, you can configure the 4xe Summit Reserve in the three-row “L” configuration.

Back in the day, Mazda’s target market used to be the youths—young, cheerful, minimalistic people who saw adventure in the most unexpected places. Mazdas were always cost-effective, simple, reliable vehicles that met all your needs but weren’t anything fancy.

Now, the company is aiming to change that. Mazda’s SUVs have gone premium with leather interiors coming in luxurious colors, a quiet, comfortable ride, powerful sound systems, modern technology, and pleasantly refreshed exterior designs. Even the company’s website is fancy.

Starting prices for Mazda’s vehicles range from $28,770 for the CX-5 up to $49,945 for the CX-90 PHEV, which are arguably the lowest starting prices on the list.

So, before you sign up to pay a lot of money at a German car dealership, be sure to look into a Mazda.

We may have saved the best for last with this one, because it’s a brand you likely didn’t expect to be on this list. Buick had a reputation for being attainable luxury, akin to Lincoln. It sort of fell off its pedestal for a while, but now it’s back and ready to go to bat with the Big Boys.

The Envista, Envision, and Enclave are all SUVs that have starting prices ranging from $23,800 to $58,200, but they all come with fancy interiors, intuitive technology, pleasant sound systems, and have a decent amount of power. Cargo space was a pleasant surprise, too.

But Buick, like the other brands listed, goes to show that you don’t have to go with higher-end brands to experience the same level of luxury, comfort, and ride quality. As reviewers, we’ve found that the line between a luxury and a “consumer” car is becoming thinner by the model year, but there are a few gems worth digging around for.