ANN ARBOR, Mich. -

Car and Driver and marketing organization Jumpstart Automotive Group revealed this week the launch of a new tool designed to aid consumers in the market for a luxury vehicle.

Luxury Vehicle Advisor gives users the ability to prioritize luxury car features that they find most important when making a purchase. Then, they can compare units based on their preferences.

"Shopping for a luxury car can be daunting because of the number of characteristics that may not immediately be apparent on a ten-minute test drive,” said Eddie Alterman, editor-in-chief of Car and Driver.

"Our Luxury Vehicle Advisor helps shoppers identify the ideal vehicles for them by boiling down Car and Driver’s test results into a simple tool that allows shoppers to compare vehicles based on their priorities,” he added.

Within the new tool, more than 200 luxury vehicles are rated and scored by the editorial team at Car and Driver in six categories based on instrumented testing and road tests.

Then, luxury cars most closely matching a shopper’s criteria are assigned a dynamic score which weights the priorities chosen, officials noted.

Once the results are displayed, shoppers can then share their choices on social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, or via email. 

Going into greater detail about how exactly consumers can use the new tool, the company offered the following steps:

1—Shoppers select three of six criteria they find most important in a luxury car, choosing from craftsmanship; convenience and technology; all-weather capability; performance; handling and ride; and safety.

2—Once shoppers choose their three most important criteria, they select their preferred price range, body style and powertrain.

3—A total of nine luxury vehicles matching the user’s criteria are displayed, with the three best matches featured at the top of the list.

4—A shopping key is provided to highlight important features, including whether the vehicle is a Car and Driver 10Best pick, a Car and Driver Editors’ Choice pick or if the vehicle is available as a diesel or a hybrid.

5—Shoppers can research and compare their top luxury car matches side-by-side, including analyzing price, car reviews, specs, features and options.

To check out the new tool, see here.