Which is the best premium car brand?

'Premium' has become a holy grail for car manufacturers - some have it and some don't. Which ones do you think deserve the title?

'Premium' is a hard thing to quantify but whatever it is, car brands want it. Any brand that achieves premium status in the eyes of the public instantly gains the right to charge more money for its products than mainstream rivals, but getting to premium nirvana is a long and difficult road. 

Scroll down to vote on your top premium car brands!

That hasn't stopped brands like Citroen, Ford and now Hyundai from setting out on the journey. Their respective DS, Vignale and Genesis sub-brands have all been launched recently with the express aim of breaking into what's referred to as the 'premium end of the car market'.

The idea is to build recognition, equity and desirability in their brands in the hope that customers will eventually be happy to pay a premium to own cars carrying that particular badge.

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All the time that Ford and Citroen are climbing up the greasy pole from below, the manufacturers that already have premium status are making hay, not only with expensive and widely lusted-after cars but with spin-off luxury goods lines, branding partnerships and goodness knows what else.

A strong premium or luxury car brand needs to be nurtured, cared for and developed - but also milked for all it's worth. At the top of the tree, the likes of Aston Martin, Ferrari and Bentley are masters at making their brands pay without killing the goose that's laying the golden eggs.

If premium status was easy to get, every car manufacturer would have it. Look from the outside at the likes of Porsche, Maserati and Rolls-Royce or even Audi, BMW and Mercedes and gaining premium status can seem impossible.

They all started somewhere, though, and with the mainstream of the global car market being squeezed from below by budget operators and above by diversifying premium marques, trying to join the elite looks an increasingly worthwhile pursuit for the big brands stuck in the middle.   

So that's where we are, but it leaves one big question. Of all the premium brands (and all the wannabe premium brands), which is best? We want you to tell us by rating them below. The result will be a ranked list of the top premium car brands according to the people who really matter: Auto Exprerss readers.

1

Aston Martin

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Aston Martin has made everything from focused sports cars to sumptuous grand tourers, and has frequently ranked highly on the influential CoolBrands list.

 

2

Rolls Royce

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One of the oldest and most recognisable luxury brands, Rolls Royce has been in the business of making posh cars for more than 100 years. Many say a Rolls is still the world's greatest car.

3

Bentley

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Bentley has been in the 'premium' car business for more than 90 years, making fast grand tourers to compete with the best of the best.

4

Ferrari

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An instantly recognisable brand, Ferrari has dabbled in making luxury cars and sleek grand tourers since the brands' inception.

5

Porsche

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Although known for making sports and performance cars, Porsche has recently diversified into making luxury cars like the Panamera, Macan and Cayenne.

6

Range Rover

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Range Rovers have always been rivals to big Mercedes saloons rather than mud-plugging 4x4s because of their quality interiors and luxurious comfort levels.

7

Mercedes

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Known for building luxury cars, Stuttgart-based Mercedes-Benz has sold vehicles to world leaders and celebrities on the premise of quality and comfort.

8

Jaguar

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Jaguar is almost a British institution in terms of the luxury and quality it provides. Recent cars like the XE, XF and XJ are ruffling the feathers of the premium German rivals.

9

Maserati

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Maserati has been making fast, pretty luxury cars for many years, with recent models like the Ghibli and Quattroporte focusing more on quality than previous models.

10

BMW

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Although the brand has a particular focus on driving dynamics, BMW regularly goes toe-to-toe with Mercedes in the luxury stakes.

11

Volvo

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Swedish car maker Volvo has focused on building solid and safe cars for many years, but the cars have a reputation for quality too.

12

Audi

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One of the trio of German car makers that sit a notch above the mainstream in the thinking of most car buyers, Audi builds "premium" cars ranging from small hatchbacks to massive SUVs.

13

Lexus

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Lexus is Toyota's 'premium' brand, which is almost equal in reputation to Mercedes and Audi in the United States.

14

DS

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DS is an offshoot of Citroen. One of the more recent premium brands to appear in the UK, DS aims to offer French quality and quirkiness.

15

Infiniti

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Technically the luxury arm of Nissan, Infiniti has a small following in the UK. Its latest car, the Q30, rivals the Mercedes A Class and Audi A3.

16

Cadillac

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Cadillac has an illustrious history of making plush cars in America, and is famous for its finned De Ville coupes in the fifties and sixties but it's never hit the big time in Europe.

17

Vignale

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Named after an Italian coachbuilder, Ford's Vignale marque cars go to a special finishing plant to be upholstered and trimmed in high quality materials.

18

Genesis

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Genesis is the latest luxury spin-off of a mainstream brand, with Hyundai aiming to rival Lexus and Infiniti by selling 'premium' cars with Genesis badges.