Family Sedan Shootout

While we talk a lot about crossovers being the trendy pick for family travel, the truth is, the mid-size sedan remains the vehicle of choice for most households. Recently, we teamed up with our friends at cars.com and USA Today to try and sort out which family sedan is the best choice, and since consumers often have a different perspective than the motoring press, we invited a local family to join us for our Ultimate Family Sedan Shootout.

2010 Honda Accord

Our course for this unique comparison test was the varied freeways, surface streets, and back roads of car crazy Southern California. Even in family cars, here, you are what you drive. With that in mind, we gathered eight five-passenger sedans, with the only stipulation being that each must have a sticker price of less then $25,000 before delivery and destination charges. Turns out, it was impressive to see the amount of content these cars had in them at that price.

All of the cars were 2010 models, except for the newly released 2011 Hyundai Sonata, and all cars came equipped with four cylinder power, automatic transmission, and full-power accessories.

2010 Ford Fusion

Our eight contestants start with the Honda Accord, which was the largest sedan in our test. The Ford Fusion, the only car in our test with heated leather seats. The much discussed Toyota Camry, for years the best seller in this class. The Chevrolet Malibu, one of the cars that's leading GM's revival. The all-new Hyundai Sonata, one of two vehicles in our test with navigation. The Suzuki Kizashi, the only all-wheel drive sedan in our test. The sporty Mazda6, which had the lowest base price of the group. And the fun-to-drive Nissan Altima. You'll find a complete breakdown of our scoring, as well as vehicle equipment, on the cars.com website.

2010 Mazda6

While all cars had pros and cons, our vocal group quickly narrowed it down to a final four. Ranking fourth, the Mazda6 has always been popular with our MotorWeek staff. We love both its sporty styling and sporty performance. Starting at only $18,600, our $24,595 test car included such high end tech features as blind spot monitoring. Its 2.5-liter rates 170 horsepower with a five speed automatic.

BRIAN ROBINSON: The Mazda6 has always been one of the best handling cars in this class, and it's no different in this comparison.

KELSEY MAYS: You wouldn't expect a car like the Mazda6 to be that fun to drive for such a big car, but it really is. Mazda still manages to put some zoom-zoom into a car that's pretty big now.

2010 Suzuki Kizashi

Third place goes to the Suzuki Kizashi. Despite being the smallest in the group, it scored well in handling and overall quality. With front drive models starting at a dollar under 19 grand, our all wheel drive test sedan stickered at $24,578 with its 180-horsepower, CVT automatic powertrain.

DAVID THOMAS: You might not have heard of that before, but it's a real sporty alternative to these other family sedans. It's also a lot smaller, but if you want something that's fun to drive and can kind of give up some of that ride comfort, definitely check it out.

2010 Nissan Altima

JAMES R. HEALEY: Kizashi is a lively car. It's a driver's car. It has the most Volkswagen-like feel to it. It's a little crude perhaps, a little stiff for a family that's not used to that, but if it's a driver's car you want it's a really good bet.

Runner-up honors go to the familiar Toyota Camry. While never an exciting car, it's hard to argue with its size, comfort, and pleasing interior. Base price is only $19,395, with our LE automatic at $22,879. That included satellite radio and a power driver's seat. Camry's 169-horsepower I-4 felt plenty peppy, and its six-speed automatic is one of the smoothest.

2010 Toyota Camry

KELSEY MAYS: The Camry is everything you'd expect for what it's been all these years. It's quiet, it's comfortable, it's a very smooth car; overall, pretty good value for your money as well.

BEN TIERNAN: Overall, I think probably the Camry had the best family car. It was pleasantly surprising as far as its performance; it seemed to have a lot of power. Acceleration was fun, braking was fun, and the ride was something that my wife would enjoy.

2011 Hyundai Sonata

But the car that carried the final tally was the newest design in our test, the stylish 2011 Hyundai Sonata. It really stands out in a rather bland looking segment. Our Sonata arrived feature-packed, including an easy-to-use nav system. With a base price of $19,195, our test GLS turned out to be the cheapest of our four finalists at $22,745. And its 200-horsepower 2.4-liter, mated to a six-speed automatic, was the most powerful.

BEN TIERNAN: Hyundai, I'd heard a lot about. I'd heard that it was kind of an up-and-coming car brand, so I kind of expected to be pleasantly surprised. I thought it was nicely appointed on the inside. I felt good about it. It felt sporty.

2010 Chevrolet Malibu

JAMES R. HEALEY: Sonata, it's a barely full-size car, just like the Accord, and it really sets some new standards; 35 miles per gallon on the highway, 200 horsepower from a four cylinder, six-speed automatic. It's probably, on paper at least, the one to match.

So there you have it. Our gang of car writers and car owners found picking a winner from such a quality group really tough. If there was ever a car segment where competition breeds excellence, it's the mainstream mid-size family sedan. But the 2011 Hyundai Sonata is a clear winner, and the new benchmark in its class.