If you ever see yourself bumping shoulder to shoulder in a car shaking shoulder to shoulder while belting out ABC while biting their toes and swallowing salsa straight out of the jar, chances are.
That you know that person, you may marry them too. As long as we can say the same about the ride in San Francisco’s Burt, we continue to favour a four-wheeled version of mass transit, where at least the devil is our loved one.
In mid-size-sedan form, this mass transit is inexpensive and efficient, with enough personal space for five, and when you’re a driver – always running on your own time under its rules.
With US automakers focusing their attention on high-margin crossovers, all five competitors in this test come from the Asian manufacturers, although we seem compelled to point out that all here are in the U.S.
We aimed to test models equipped with entry powertrains and prices around $ 30,000. For the Honda Accord, it turned out to be the $ 31,050 EX-L. The mid-rig model features adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assist and a leather-wrapped cabin surface and draws power from a turbocharged 1.5-LR inline-four.
The Honda offers an only manual transmission in the segment, which we would love ourselves, but instead, we have opted to test the continuously variable automatic for parity.
The new 2020 Hyundai Sonata has promoted the 1.6-litre inline-four with an eight-speed automatic and what we mostly agree is a faster style-up as long as someone uses a polar chrome ribbon running on the window trim from each headlight.
Does not mention. The nearly $ 33,000 Limited model is shown here is easily the test’s content king, with a feature list that can fill a CVS receipt.
Under the guise of SR, at the lower end of the trim-level spectrum is the Nissan Altima for 2019.
A CVT and a 2.5-litre four are familiar with the past generation, but they can now be partnered with an all-wheel-drive system that acts as a type of vaccine against crossover purchases.
Our test model drops many of the luxuries of Hyundai and Subaru and starts at $ 27,945. A handful of accessories, such as splash guards and underbody lighting, raise the total price to $ 30,720.
The all-wheel-drive Ultima is a direct and almost personal attack on the new 2020 Subaru Legacy. For decades, Subaru has owned the all-wheel-drive mid-size-sedan segment – in fact, and it has been in the segment as a whole.
Powered by a 182-hp 2.5-LR Flat-Four, a mid-level sport trim with optional blind-spot monitoring, sunroof, and navigation is $ 30,090. A CVT is also standard here.
Finally, we have the group’s Audball, a stripper of the Toyota Camry. With floor mats and door-edge protectors, $ 26,183 as its only option, this LE is almost as basic as you can get.
We asked Toyota if it wanted to do something with just a touch flashier, and company representatives were adamant that the value play was a deliberate decision. The Camry is powered by a 2.5-litre inline-four, driving the front wheels via an eight-speed automatic.
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We are missing a car. When we last compared a family sedan, in 2016, the Mazda 6 claimed victory over the Chevrolet Malibu and previous-generation versions of the Accord and Camry. Mazda can only provide a stunning 6 for this test with its uplevel 250-hp turbo 2.5-litre, so we dropped it.
As a consolation, be aware that the Accord has ranked in our 10Best list running for 22 years. Mazda’s last win was in 2015.
Enough with introductions. Please set nail clippers and salsa and let’s ride through the current mid-size sedan Peking order.
