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The sticker on the window of a 2006 Range Rover Sport HSE parked inside Rosenthal Jaguar at Tysons Corner lists a few choice selling points: a child seat sensor, voice-activated controls and heated windshield washer jets – all for an asking price of $59,350.

A more comprehensive list for buyers to consider might read something like this: $1,741 for a new headlight, $600 to replace a cracked windshield – and the instant respect of valets and your little brother’s friends.

Call it the unconscious cost-benefit analysis of the luxury car buyer.

It’s a calculus more of us find ourselves making. Luxury vehicle sales in the United States have nearly doubled over the past decade, to 1.5 million in 2006, according to Edmunds.com, a consumer automotive Web site. About 50,000 new luxury models are registered in the Washington area every year, according to R.L. Polk & Co., a Michigan firm that tracks the auto industry.

Many owners quickly learn, however, that the higher cost of owning a premium ride doesn’t end with the sticker price. There are fancy-but-finicky electrical gadgets and heftier insurance premiums because of expensive parts, according to auto quality and insurance experts.

And yet, luxury automakers such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW post record sales year after year, even as non-luxury brands close the gap in quality and reliability. “There really are no bad cars or trucks sold right now,” said George C. Peterson, president of the marketing consultancy AutoPacific Inc. “The range in research ratings . . . has narrowed consistently for the past 20 years.”

That raises an obvious question: Why are consumers choosing to upgrade to premium brands when they have more opportunities than ever to get the same quality for less money?

Market researchers say the leveling of the playing field in terms of quality is exactly what’s driving people to luxury brands. Because there’s less difference in overall quality, consumers find other reasons to buy a car, said Wes Brown, an analyst with Iceology, an auto industry consultancy in Los Angeles.

“There’s an expectation of quality whether I’m spending $20,000 or $100,000,” he said. “There are other things I’m looking for, like the power of the brand. Is it worth it to me? Do I like how it makes me feel about my station in life?” Brown said. “People nowadays are looking to have an emotional connection with their vehicles.”

Ellis Covington, 37, who runs a mortgage company in Glen Burnie, owns two sedans made by Mercedes, a brand he has long revered.

“It’s personal,” he said of his preference for luxury vehicles. “It’s what’s ingrained in your mind.”

Covington also owns a Hummer H2 he bought on impulse and has his eye on a third Mercedes.

“I say you only live once,” he said. “You should do it.”
Those Touchy Trimmings

Sleek styling and sophisticated features, such as 17-inch Belize wheels and a finished Burl Walnut dashboard, have always separated luxury cars from their more pedestrian cousins. But what increasingly sets luxury cars apart are technological gizmos such as adaptive cruise control (it adjusts the car’s speed relative to the car in front of you), Bluetooth wireless technology (so you can leave that cellphone ear piece at home), and voice-activated controls (so you don’t have to lift a finger).

Living on the cutting edge, however, comes at a price. The very gadgets that make luxury cars special can become gremlins that, in some makes, keep them in the shop. Electrical problems were partly to blame for Mercedes recalling 1.3 million cars last year.

“Electrical issues are the biggest bone of contention” and are most often a source of mechanical glitches with luxury cars these days, especially in non-Japanese brands, said David Champion, senior director of Consumer Reports’ auto test division.

This year marked the first time that luxury car brands didn’t dominate the vehicle-dependability study by consumer research firm J.D. Powers & Associates. Toyota’s luxury brand Lexus was first, and Cadillac was fourth. The rest of the spots were claimed by Toyota, Mercury and Buick, said Neal Oddes, director of product research and analysis.

“The extra stuff you don’t have to have in a car – that’s what’s giving [owners] grief,” said Gus Mohammadi, owner of Eurosport Motors in Rockville, which specializes in Porsche repairs. “There’s no essential major problems with them. It’s the little stuff people paid a lot of money for.”