Purchasing any family sedan marks you as a person of practicality, a driver who needs the flexibility of four doors who also eschews the lower fuel economy, relative ponderousness, and often-higher price of a crossover or SUV. But purchasing one of the family sedans on our list? That also marks you as a person in the know. Sure, you care about getting the kids to school and yourself to work safely and in comfort, but you also care about how rewarding the journey is along the way. Our top two entries are 2014 10Best Cars winners, which makes them among the very best vehicles on the market, period. But you’ll be the one wearing laurels if you choose any of the five cars here.
5. Nissan Altima
The Altima is sensible, sure, but it also looks like a baby Infiniti. The only transmission choice for the 182-hp four-cylinder and 270-hp V-6 is a CVT, but it’s among the best of the breed—you should get used to CVTs, by the way—and enables the four-cylinder model to return nearly 40 mpg on the highway according to the EPA. (Caveat: We saw far less than that in the real world.) Add in relatively sporty handling and a well-executed cabin, and you end up with a family sedan you can not only live with, but, in all likelihood, also enjoy. If Nissan imparted some life to the steering and firmed up the suspension a bit, the Altima might place even higher on our list.
4. Volkswagen Passat
Volkswagen’s latest Passat was crafted with Americans in mind, abandoning the Euro feel of its predecessors in a move we feared might turn it into a Teutonic Town Car. We needn’t have worried—while we miss the buttoned-down handling, it turns out a Teutonic Town Car is still pretty great, and the VW won its initial comparison test against the Hyundai Sonata and last-gen Accord. Assembling the car in the U.S. means the sticker prices are also no longer Euro-bred, but you still get a nicely assembled interior, cushy ride quality, and a lineup of thoroughly German powertrains. Those options include a frugal diesel engine—the only one offered in the segment right now—that returns 39 mpg overall (or more) even when prodded by our aggressive right feet.
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3. Ford Fusion
The latest Ford Fusion sits alongside the Mazda 6 on the sparsely populated list of stylish family sedans. It offers a wide array of powertrain options, including a 2.5-liter four-cylinder, turbocharged 1.5-, 1.6-, and 2.0-liter fours, and hybrid and plug-in hybrid systems. The 1.6 is only available with a manual, which makes it the enthusiast’s choice. The chassis is composed, the structure solid, and the responses crisp—the only things keeping it from seriously challenging for top honors are packaging deficiencies largely borne of its design (cramped rear seat, small trunk opening, somewhat harder ingress and egress), as well as the still-frustrating MyFord Touch infotainment system.
2. Honda Accord
Don’t let the fact that the current Accord lost a comparison test fool you—it’s still a damn fine sedan, and one of our favorite cars on the road. The powertrain roster includes smooth four-cylinder or V-6 engines; an innovative, transmission-less hybrid powertrain; or a plug-in hybrid powertrain, and the car remains a paragon of balance, expertly blending dynamic competence with daily drivability. The model is a regular 10Best winner, and this latest generation, introduced for 2013, has reaffirmed its place among the very best cars you can buy. Our only wishes are for a manual option with the burly six-cylinder and more-exciting styling.
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1. Mazda 6
The new-for-2014 Mazda 6 is our current favorite family four-door, having toppled King Accord in a head-to-head comparison test. The 6 combines urbane design, top-notch interior materials, and class-leading driving pleasure in a package that’s still everyday usable. It takes advantage of Mazda’s lightweight Skyactiv chassis technology to shed mpg-sapping pounds, yet it feels solid on the road, and the 6 won our hearts despite being available with only one engine: a 184-hp 2.5-liter four-cylinder that returns 37 mpg highway. Available transmissions are an excellent six-speed automatic or a joyous and slick six-speed stick. An efficient diesel is on the way eventually, and it will serve as a torquey cherry on top of this fantastic family sedan.