Smoothest Riding New Car?

Lincoln Nautilus. Very very comfy.

Ride comfort

The Nautilus rides well. There is somewhat of an underlying firmness, some of which emanates from the low-profile 20-inch tires, but ultimately the ride is steady, composed and comfortable, particularly on the highway.
 
You can remove our Lexus GS from the list. With stock sized 18” wheels it is harsh. Maybe a 45 series tire? I dare say I’ve considered moving to 17” wheels, but that’s an expensive proposition when adding in tires. I wonder how much of the superb handling would be lost.
 
Ride comfort

There is an underlying firmness to the CT5’s ride, yet it manages to absorb most bumps well. Overall, the suspension keeps the body steady and planted barring the occasional choppy motion.
 
You can't compare the 2009 Legacy you rode in to a new one.

2022 Legacy
Ride comfort

The Legacy’s ride is superb. It mops up just about any pavement flaw with ease, feeling as plush as a luxury car. We marveled at the Legacy’s ability to filter out bumps, control side-to-side body motions, and keep passengers virtually unaware of all but the most egregious road imperfections. The Legacy is not only the most comfortable riding midsized sedan, but it eclipses expensive luxury cars such as the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and Lexus LS.
 
Its the big wheels and short tire sidewalls. Pick the smallest wheel on the vehicle you like. My mazda was available and came with either 20 inch or 17 inch wheels. I had them take off the 20 inch and swap them for the 17 off another mazda. Ride was much better on 17's.

I hate large wheels and short sidewalls especially on non sports cars.

2022 Buick Enclave (only the trim lines with the 18 inch wheels ).
 
You can't compare the 2009 Legacy you rode in to a new one.

2022 Legacy
Ride comfort

The Legacy’s ride is superb. It mops up just about any pavement flaw with ease, feeling as plush as a luxury car. We marveled at the Legacy’s ability to filter out bumps, control side-to-side body motions, and keep passengers virtually unaware of all but the most egregious road imperfections. The Legacy is not only the most comfortable riding midsized sedan, but it eclipses expensive luxury cars such as the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and Lexus LS.
Wow, I had a 2021 legacy base model as a loaner, and luxury ride is not what I thought of. It had 5k miles on it, and it was at 0C, but I was actually surprised how stiffly sprung and damped it was compared to our Outback with 50k miles on it. Maybe the Legacy had its tires at 40 psi or something. Maybe the fancy trims have different shocks? To me, it felt Subaru was trying cheapen the interior a bit in this Legacy, where in my Outback, the base interior makes me question why anyone would bother upgrading it...
The 21 Legacy did absorb small bumps like road cracks a bit more serenely than our Outback inspite of the stiffer suspension though, very solid chassis and frame. Our Outback feels half way to my Dads Ram truck coil sprung solid axle on small sharp bumps. Just a tiny extra jiggle.
That said, our car is sprung and damped softly, so it floats over lots of large bumps on the road, and it has long travel, so I can only recall once heavily bottoming it out. It's not quite 70's luxo yacht but rides softer than anything else I've been in lately, and if you disconnected the sway bars it probably would ride even smoother with more roll obviously.
OP,
I haven't actually driven this gen of Outback, but 2018,19 are relatively quiet smooth road cruisers, and I would've liked a bench front seat in ours. I suspect the 2020+ Outback with the 17" tires should be softer sprung than the Legacy and have the same good small bump absorption. I would give one a try. I have driven a 2020 Ascent and it was very similar to my Outback, smooth and quiet as well. Give those 3 a spin, also even a 2.5 Crosstrek maybe just a 7/8 version of an Outback. That motor could spend its whole life below 2200 rpm as well for light footed drivers.
 
there was also the bentley mulsanne. it was the pinnacle of bentley comfort and serene driving experience , unfortunately they stopped production in 2020 and the 3rd generation flying spur has taken it's place. the flying spur is faster and a better driver car but will never equal the mulsanne for ride comfort and serenity. it was my dream car. they had speed versions with 530hp and 811 lbs ft of torque. it was a 6000 pounds car. and it was beautiful.
 
Last generation Lincoln Continental that was discontinued after the 2020 model year. Should be some good used ones out there: wasn’t popular with fleets so maybe some low-mileage examples.
 
In 2011 the MSRP for a Grand Marquis was 30k... adjust for inflation this is now about 40k... so I would be looking to pay around 40k...
IMO the closest new car that meets most your requirements (including price) would be the 2022 Toyota Avalon XLE V6 with 17" wheels. It is the smoothest and quietest riding car I can think of for under $40k. It doesn't exactly "float" down the road, but it comes close. Unfortunately, 2022 is the last year for the Avalon. The next closest car would be the base model Lexus ES 350, basically the same car under the skin as the Avalon, an even smoother and quieter ride than the Avalon (more sound insulation), and more comfortable seats, but it costs more than $40k.
 
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The ford fusion and it's lincoln upscaled brother, the Lincoln MKZ were really soft and supple. I was surprised at just how soft it rode - I didn't think that was possible in a car but I'm used to short wheel base and coilover'd cars.

In fact it's so comfy and soft that at no point in my 3 month usage of did I ever thought "wow I can take this turn faster than 20mph."
 
I'd like to add that I also like the smooth/comfy ride that is also quiet...Shhhhh!
However, I don't want the floaty, boaty ride that were the vehicles of the past. They're too dangerous just turning in the corners.

I do like the ride of the base vehicles in a segment(any segment) with the tallest sidewall(profile) tires. But I also want an absorbent ride over broken pavement.

In today's vehicles(unlike years ago), everything already handles quite well by design. Then the mfg's makes each higher trim level of that vehicle handle even better with stiffer springs/dampers and lower profile tires but the ride gets worst. In essence, I don't need more handling for the normal daily commute. If I want a vehicle that handles awesome, I'll buy a vehicle that handles awesome. If I want a really fast vehicle, I'll buy a really fast vehicle.


My problem with new vehicles is that many mfg's(TOYOTA for one) are not putting in enough sound insulation(I realize it adds wgt) in key areas so even if you get a decent ride, they're noisy on the hiwy. And that takes away from the pleasure of the ride itself.

In terms of ride & quiet, I think that GENESIS has become what LEXUS used to be even though LEXUS is still decent. But I think that Toy/Lex is giving the customers(key words) "too much" of what they WERE NOT asking for.
 
I came here to suggest trying the Genesis G80. It has one of the softest conventional suspensions (no air bladders, just springs and shocks). Avoid the sport trim if you're looking for a couch.
 
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