Midsize Sedan Comparison

While shiny, red sports cars tug at your heartstrings and sleek silver luxo sedans give a leathery whiff of the good life, the car that's getting you to work right now is probably a midsize sedan. Welcome to the middle class; no, not the socioeconomic bracket, but more likely than not, your mode of transportation.

And might we add: a rather smart choice at that.

You're in good company. There are a fair number of people who want good quality, utility, and roadgoing competence and who don't want to pay any more than they must to get it. Perhaps they shop at big box stores, read Consumer Reports and buy closeouts and end-of-season goods. Seems like good common sense to us.

Just three midsize sedans, in fact, the ones examined in this comparison, combine to tally nearly one million sales in the U.S. year after year. The Toyota Camry and Honda Accord are the number one and number two best-selling cars in America for 2002 and have accomplished that feat (sometimes trading places on the charts) for a good many years now. And the Nissan Altima, though not currently a top seller, has been gaining fast on these annual best-sellers since its redesign last year.

Yeah, yeah, you say: Shopping for a midsize sedan draws upon the same well of passion as, perhaps, choosing a homeowner's insurance plan, opening a retirement account, or getting a prostate exam. We're here to report that midsize front-drive sedans with four-cylinder engines, hubcaps, and automatic transmissions aren't necessarily the province of pensioners and fence-sitters willing to settle for mediocrity in the joyless pursuit of parsimony.

Especially so for these three midsize sedans, each available, reasonably equipped, for a bit over $20,000. A lot of savvy buyers are going to be driving new Camrys, Altimas, and Accords off dealer lots this year, smiling all the way to the bank.