• by Tanya Gazdik , July 11, 2017

The Audi A4 is at the top of its segment, earning the title of Best Luxury Sports Sedan of 2017, according to Cars. com.

Three experts from the company as well as one consumer tested model-year 2017 cars from the highly competitive luxury sports sedan segment in order to rank the options available to shoppers. 

“An all-around champ, the A4 can appeal to driving enthusiasts with its power, brake-pedal feel and surefooted all-wheel drive, but it also provides excellent space, quality and comfort with advanced features that are well executed, not merely present,” said Joe Wiesenfelder, Cars.com executive editor and Luxury Sports Sedan Challenge judge, in a release. 

Vehicles tested in the challenge included the Alfa Romeo Giulia, Audi A4, BMW 3 Series, Cadillac ATS, Jaguar XE, Lexus IS and Mercedes-Benz C-Class. 

For the challenge, vehicles were equipped with turbocharged four-cylinder engines that are ubiquitous to the class and are, for most models, the volume-selling engine. The price range was $45,830 to $53,025. 

Other 2017 model year top finishers, in order are: Alfa Romeo Giulia, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Cadillac ATS, Jaguar XE, BMW 3 Series and Lexus IS.

Even consumers who have never owned a luxury car know the big players from Audi, BMW and Mercedes because they’ve been around so long, said Jennifer Newman, Cars.com’s editor-in-chief. 

“These veterans of the luxury sports sedan class have fresh targets on their backs from the all-new Alfa Romeo Giulia and Jaguar XE,” Newman says in a release.