The topic is about premium cars not premium brands. The s class Merc is clearly premium whereas I doubt the same could be said about the a class. Same with Lexus. The LS is in a different class to the CT. It's all about quality of materials and components, not about looks or speed. The term I find most interesting in car magazine reviews is 'perceived' quality when talking about VW's, Audi's and BMW's etc. Perceived being the key word. Real quality is that which feels quality but also lasts because it is actually of a quality which lasts. I bought a cat basket which seemed really good on first inspection but broke after a couple of uses. Certainly not premium. I replaced it with one that was slightly more expensive, looks crap but works perfectly and has never let me down in over 10 years of service. That's premium and I think the same applies to all products including cars!