Mercedes Benz

Mass-market players are throwing jabs above their weight classes. Wallet-friendly brands such as Ford, Honda and Kia offer loaded upper trim levels that inflate prices to the point where their vehicles end up face to face with high-end brands. The Ford Edge might not seem like a natural challenger to the Lexus NX 300, for instance, but the Edge Sport carries a sticker price that's $570 more than that of the NX 300 F Sport. Similar overlap occurs with the Kia Cadenza and Lincoln Continental sedans, the Toyota Land Cruiser and Lincoln Navigator SUVs and the Mazda6 sedan and Mercedes-Benz CLA four-door coupe, to name a few. The goals of the loftier pricing vary. Mazda has tried to move upmarket with its Signature trim on the CX-9 crossover and Mazda6. Kia, on the other hand, wanted to lift brand awareness and consideration when it released the pricey K900 sedan. Meanwhile, luxury staples Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz moved downmarket in recent years, edging more into mass-market territory....

Mass-market players are throwing jabs above their weight classes. Wallet-friendly brands such as Ford, Honda and Kia offer loaded upper trim levels that inflate prices to the point where their vehicles end up face to face with high-end brands. The Ford Edge might not seem like a natural challenger to the Lexus NX 300, for instance, but the Edge Sport carries a sticker price that's $570 more than that of the NX 300 F Sport. Similar overlap occurs with the Kia Cadenza and Lincoln Continental sedans, the Toyota Land Cruiser and Lincoln Navigator SUVs and the Mazda6 sedan and Mercedes-Benz CLA four-door coupe, to name a few. The goals of the loftier pricing vary. Mazda has tried to move upmarket with its Signature trim on the CX-9 crossover and Mazda6. Kia, on the other hand, wanted to lift brand awareness and consideration when it released the pricey K900 sedan. Meanwhile, luxury staples Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz moved downmarket in recent years, edging more into mass-market territory....