Sport Sedan Comparison

If you're like the majority of the working folks in this country, you commute behind the wheel of a sedan. If you're like the Motor Trend staff, you want to enjoy the trip. And if there are some roads on your way to and from the office that are particularly fun to run--mountains, canyons, coastline--all the better to own a car that's rewarding to drive.

Enter the Clutch Players. We selected three sedans from a group that's by no means exhaustive and whose outward missions are decidedly pedestrian--but whose packaging, styling, and sport-oriented option list offer the passionate commuter a reason to look forward to the slog home. While none of our trio will scare off a BMW M5, you could just about buy all three of these for the cost of one.

The new player in this high-stakes game, the Mazda 6, comes from the company that claims to put a little sports car in everything it builds. You've seen the other two before--how could you miss them? Over 148,000 Nissan Altimas and 145,000 Volkswagen Jettas were sold last year.

For this tourney, we requested the manufacturers' highest output V-6 engines and driver's footwells with no fewer than three pedals each. It's a simple formula, really: A front-drive sedan with a minimum 200-horsepower V-6, plus a manual transmission and sporty tires. This way, you still get all the utility of a four-door commuter sedan, only in a more edgy, performance-minded package. The manny tranny aspect is important, too: As sequentially controlled automatics are becoming more prevalent, and as marketing types try to convince us these automobiles are all "race inspired," we commend manufacturers who still specify, develop, and certify honest-to-clutch stick-shift transmissions for those of us who feel performance driving is most satisfying when both hands and feet come into play.