Luxury sporty coupe

$34k won't get you much in terms of luxury. Lexus and Buick (somewhat) are the only reliable premium brands right now. If you need a European brand, Audi is the most reliable.

Take a look at a new 2017 Honda Accord. The main reason is because you will get massive incentives as they are trying to get them off the dealer lots. Second, they are very nice cars. I had a fully loaded Accord Coupe a long time ago and it was a very nice car for the time. Not luxury or prestige, but comfortable, stylish, and reliable. The new one is very stylish still. Honda stopped making the Coupe for 2018, so find a fully loaded 2017. For a more modern design, the Honda Civic Coupe is a newer model that should be pretty reliable. It is smaller than the Accord, but its a coupe so its not a high priority. You won't get those incentives on this one.

The Buick Regal Sportback may not be a bad choice. It is new for 2018. It has the styling of a coupe, but has 4 doors. I know NormT will promote it. It probably won't be reliable in its first year like most cars. If you want a quieter cabin than the Hondas, chech this out.

Test drive the Audi A5 because it is a good mix of luxury and fun. I think it would be over your budget so look for a used 2018 A5. I've never liked the Lexus RC much.

LectroFuel had great suggestions - I would get the Audi. Here are a couple of other ideas.

The new Infiniti Q60 is just out of your price range and would be a solid option if you can find a lightly used or discounted version. It has a great adjustable suspension. The old Q60/G37 coupe is well in your price range used. There are some 2017's available for around $34k - 2017 is the redesigned model.

Cadillac makes a coupe version of the ATS which has been well received. The base version of the Cadillac is more powerful than the base version of the Infiniti and the Caddy has a trickadjustable magnetorheological damper suspension which has great tech.

Mercedes C-300 / C Class Coupe is a great option. The interior quality will be much higher than the Infiniti and Cadillac, and more on par with Audi. German cars will be more maintenance intense, but get a lightly used Certified Pre Owned version and you will have years of warranty to fall back on.

I can see why you'd recommend a Civic or Accord as the owner of two Pri, you really do not know anything other than economy cars and cuvs when the person was asking for luxury car recommendations and currently owns one.

The 2018 Regal has been made and sold for a year now in Europe so it is not exactly a first model year car. Just like brand new Toyota Camry that was being shipped here this past summer before it was being assembled in Kentucky and is the same one subject to a fire risk recall.

The 2018 Regal offer panoramic sunroof and the newest, most atheltic for $24,999 for 2.0T and front wheel drive. It'll be much faster than the old IS 2.5 v6. Must as well take a look at the Buick Cascada convertible while your there too.

Come on, Norm, no need to make it that personal :)

Let's also keep in mind that quadgirl asked for a coupe--a car with two doors. And she's used to a Lexus, so she probably required an upscale interior, and perhaps an upscale brand.

Put all of this together, and I most like Dnslater's suggestion of the second-gen Infiniti Q60. Used 2017s with low miles are available for under $34,000, even some with the six-cylinder engine (if this is desired). A first-gen Q60 would be less expensive, but also rides firmly. Might be worth a look to see if it rides smoothly enough.

After the Infiniti, the previous generation C-Class coupe is probably the best choice. As Mercedes go these have been quite reliable--though like any German car they'll be expensive to fix if a repair is needed. It's also quite possible that they'll become less reliable once over 100,000 miles, as most in our survey are well short of this mark.

Reliability is iffier with both the Audi A5 and Cadillac ATS. The Cadillac does handle the best of the bunch, though. Audi's high reliability scores elsewhere are based on at most the first three years of ownership.

I am personally not a fan of Infiniti (or Nissan) aside from the exterior styling. I'm an Audi fan, but I'll tell you that Infinitis will likely be cheaper to maintain. They don't have the reliability they used to be known for, but they aren't terrible. I never said Audis were reliable, but based on several websites, they usually seem to be cheaper to maintain than BMW and Mercedes. The Q50 had massive first-year reliability problems and the Q60 is a very similar car. I guess that means technically the new Q60 is on its 4th year (since the Q50 debuted in 2014), so I'm expecting early model year problems will not be as prevalent in the Q60.

The Audi A5 is just a better car IMO, but it is also more expensive to buy and maintain. I like the Audi more because of the styling, it isn't a Nissan, it drives better (no steer by wire steering), and has a better quality interior. The Q60 is nice and if you like it, go for it.

CPO programs are very helpful when buying a used car, especially a luxury car. They usually have another warranty of 5 years or more. Infiniti has two types of CPO programs based on what condition the car is in:Infiniti CPO Program

The Audi CPO program:Audi CPO comparison to other brands including Infiniti

Good luck with your search and please tell us what you buy!

Norm, that's a lot of talk from someone who only knows about one brand and can't write an entire response in proper English. Why do you have to always have to start an argument? I didn't even say anything except that I expected you to suggest a Buick, and you did. Look at the Cascada's interior! Eww! Even the Chevy Cruze is nicer than the Cascada.

The Q50's reliability problems largely involved its dual-screen infotainment system and software, so they mostly didn't show up in the stats here. I would suggest spending some time in the Infiniti to make sure you don't find it's infotainment setup overly frustrating or difficult to use. Also check responsiveness.

Just an FYI on the Audi..... they are fairly reliable these days, but given that your last car was a Lexus, you need to know that German cars just require more attention to maintenance. You can't lag on scheduled maintenance. Need to use the correct fluids, follow manufacturer intervals, etc.... Parts are sometimes expensive. Some things are quirky, like on my VW GTI, I couldn't find a Bosch rear wiper online domestically and had to order from a seller in Germany via Amazon. If you value driving experience and nice interiors, it is worth it.... just know that ownership can be more involved.

My wife is buying a CPO Lexus, and it seems that with a Lexus you can get away with extending maintenance intervals and skipping some routine maintenance without any repurcussions.... at least initially. Infiniti will be closer to Lexus than Audi, but nothing beats a Lexus for reliability.

If you're willing to go beyond badges and judge cars based on their own merit, I would suggest the 2015-2017 Ford Mustang Ecoboost Premium. The upgraded interior and performance should contend with any previous suggestions. I also agree with the Infiniti Q60 2017-2018 model. As previously stated, the only common issue has been regarding the ease of use of the entertainment system.