MT Poll: Would You Ever Buy a Luxury Car Without All-Wheel Drive?

More luxury car buyers than ever are paying a premium for all-wheel drive, new reports claim. A few years ago, a large displacement engine was considered a prerequisite option on a luxury car; now all-wheel drive seems to be the latest “must have” feature, according to The Wall Street Journal.

In the report, a Jaguar representative suggests that all-wheel-drive cars account for half of all midsize luxury sedan sales, up from 30 percent five years ago. With sales of all-wheel drive cars up 15 percent in warmer states, many luxury brands are increasing the availability of all-wheel-drive models.

New all-wheel-drive luxury sedans include the Cadillac ATS and XTS sedans, while the Jaguar XF and XJ V-6 sedans will offer all-wheel drive for the 2013 model year. To help complete its lineup, the 2013 Volvo S60 T5 will get available all-wheel drive – until now it was reserved for the S60 T6 model. BMW is optimistic about 3 Series sales with the all-wheel-drive variants going on sale soon, and Audi has been marketing its Quattro all-wheel-drive system for years.

Some experts aren’t convinced all-wheel drive is worth the added expense and reduced fuel economy. Would you ever buy a luxury car without all-wheel drive? Vote in the poll below.

Source: The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg