Driving a luxury car is a major goal for many people. Unfortunately, not everyone can afford one. But still, automakers are trying harder than ever to make luxury car ownership affordable for as many as possible. For around $30,000, you can now get a brand-new Audi A3 or Mercedes CLA. This so-called affordable luxury trend is now gathering steam among other brands as well. So which makes and models are the most popular for first-time luxury car buyers?

Polk and IHS Automotive recently completed a study to answer that question. Gathering data from new vehicle registrations through April 2014 in the US, the survey discovered that these 10 cars had the highest conquest rates from non-luxury segments (meaning they're the most popular for first-time luxury car buyers). In descending order: Volvo C70 (68.01 percent), Infiniti JX35 (63.89), Acura ILX (59.66), Audi A3 (57.34), Cadillac ATS (56.88), Acura RDX (56.53), BMW 128i (53.93), Lexus CT 200h (53.17), Land Rover LR2 (52.47), and lastly the Mercedes-Benz CLA (51.83).

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