2005 Honda Accord EX V-6 Suspension, Interior

Our topline SEL V-6 base priced at a Camry-like $22,360, though you can select a lesser V-6-equipped S or SE if you're looking to eke into the Sonata's subterranean price range. The trouble is, those pesky Hyundai standard features scramble any efforts at simple comparison (for instance, the Fusion doesn't offer stability control at any price, and ABS is an option on price-leader models). Maybe Alan Greenspan could figure this out, but our tea leaves are saying the Fusion's a bargain.

Will it also be Dearborn's Phoenix of sedans? As it sits, it could be. But there's a shadow hanging over it in the form of a question: Can Ford shake its habit of presenting a promising car to the world and then forgetting to develop it? The Camry and Accord didn't become the category's gold and platinum standards by appearing once and never improving.

Walton, reflecting on our comparison-winning Accord's performance, says it somehow feels the most adult here in terms of poise on its toes. Not as sporty as the Ford, nor as squishy as the Toyota, but it's a good compromise. The Accord doesn't triumph here just because its porridge is just right, however. Not only does the interior rocket ahead in quality, it's in another orbit in style. Stepping from the Toyota, Ford, or Hyundai into the Accord is like checking out of the Monterey Best Western and into the Lodge at Pebble Beach.

And the standard extends to the Honda's granitelike structure, too, which serves as an imperturbable basis for a taut yet absorbent suspension. On dimpled pavement, it can seem double-espresso busy as it nervously reads every cranny of road, but somehow the most objectionable spikes in the texture are unfailingly blotted out before they reach your desk.

Behind the wheel, the Accord is nimble, but not devoid of awkwardness. Walton: "There's a nonlinearity in the steering's response." Entering a corner you feel "an initial delay, then a gain as the tires grip, and finally a caboose feeling to the rear end." Likewise, two drivers scorned the brakes as hair-triggered, jerking regardless of how calculated and gentle the pedal touch.