While luxury cars are all about style, there is much more to them than just leather upholstery and wood trim. Luxury cars are synonymous with top-notch performance, safety, comfort, and the latest technology. The best luxury cars are replete with high-grade features and manufactured using the best spare parts and materials. Some of the basic features in the best luxury cars include automatic climate-control systems, power amenities, and audio systems with Bluetooth connectivity.

However, while shopping for one, ensure that you consider its performance apart from comfort and style. To help you identify the best luxury cars in the market, here are three important performance features you should consider.

• Fuel economy and engines
  The best luxury cars usually have a large gas tank and require premium gasoline. This can be expensive; therefore, ensure that the car gives you good mileage and is fuel-efficient.

Go for luxury cars that have the latest technologies such as cylinder deactivation. This shuts off certain engine cylinders under low power demands, giving you better mileage while driving on the highway. Another feature is the automatic engine shutoff, where the engine powers down while idling at a traffic light. The engine restarts as soon as the driver releases the brake pedal, thereby saving more fuel.

The automatic transmission is another feature that you should look for while buying a luxury car. The best luxury cars usually offer between six- and nine-speed transmissions. Note that the more the number of gears, the better the fuel economy. Many luxury car transmissions allow the option to switch between manual and automatic shifting. They typically have paddles mounted on the steering wheel, making the car more performance-oriented.

• Drive Wheels
  Mainstream cars such as hatchbacks and sedans use front-wheel drive (FWD), whereas luxury cars typically come with rear- or all-wheel drive. FWD typically provides better traction in slippery conditions than rear-wheel drive. Conversely, rear-wheel drive is better at steering on dry roads. All-wheel drive (AWD) offers significantly better traction irrespective of the weather and type of road. However, AWD does not shorten stopping distances, adding to the car’s cost and weight. So, you can either choose luxury cars that let you switch between FWD and RWD or go for AWD and have a smooth ride irrespective of road conditions.
• Advanced Safety Features
  The best luxury cars are replete with the newest and most advanced safety features. Automatic emergency braking and forward-collision warning are the two most valued safety systems that are fast becoming a norm even in mainstream cars. Forward-collision warning technology alerts the driver of an impending collision with a car or objects directly in its path. A car equipped with automatic emergency braking (AEB) senses a potential collision and will start braking automatically if you don’t react in time.

Other modern safety advances that the best luxury cars have are lane-departure warning systems that sound an alert if you change lanes without signaling, telematics systems that alert emergency services if an airbag deploys. They also have lane-keeping assist to center the vehicle in the lane if it starts to drift, and blind-spot warning systems that indicate vehicles in the blind spots of your car.