Did you recently rush to buy a new vehicle before tariff-related price hikes? A reporter is looking to speak with shoppers who felt pressure to act quickly due to expected cost increases; please reach out to PR@Edmunds.com for more details by 4/24.
Midsize Sedans Comparison Thread
This discussion has been closed.
Comments
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/cars/best-in-class/family-friendly-vehicles/f- amilyfriendlyvehicles.htm
Lists Accord as best in class for the family sedan category.
your suspicions on what the stability control system actually does (eliminate oversteer conditions) by reducing power and applying the appropriate braking is right on the mark I suspect. How these systems interfere with 'performance driving' is already starting to be apparent with these limitations seen on the skidpad and in avoidance (lane change) tests. As far as snow and ice are concerned, I guess those effects are most apparent when you are attempting to maintain momentum, often at a ragged edge of control, but the car 'decides' it doesn't want to move by doing the same sort of thing, cutting throttle and slowing steering responses. And yes give me a true LSD as opposed to an electronic traction control which does nothing but cut power to the offending wheel[s].
Did get a chance to look at one the other day incidentally and the most apparent difference in the car (vs. my 03) besides the shiftless tranny is the quality and fit/finish of the interior. Could be an Accord! Evaluations of styling are certainly subjective and generally not worthy of debate, but IMO it is a good looking vehicle as well.
How can you say they didn't get it right? Everyone picks the car they like the best. You, me, CR, Joe Blow. You may want a 4 door sports car, and the Altima would be a good choice for you. Joe Blow may be looking for the smoothest ride, and he would like a Camry, or Sonata. Do we all have to agree? I hope not. :confuse:
FWIW, the exterior styling of the Altima leaves me cold. Never liked it, never will. Looks like a jelly bean that's trying too hard to be "hot". Everytime I see a Nissan sedan approach and I say, "Hey, that's not too bad!" I then find myself saying, "...oh, it's a Maxima." As for the Accord, what some people think is bland and boring, others think is dignified and balanced. Cars don't have to look "hot" to look good, let's get over that one please.
So in fact the V6 Passat, Accord, and Altima are tied for first in CR's rankings. Still an excellent showing for the older Accord.
I'd pretty much agree with this rating. The Accord may be boring and I would say unattractive, but altima is unattractiver, imo.
The new (and old) Altima has that "Cheap Aftermarket" look. The big gaudy lights turn me off.
I don't think anyone should be claiming one person's styling preference as stupid over another, in my opinion. After all, it is SUBJECTIVE!!!!!
-Loren
And I do feel like the understated styling (is understated a word many of us can agree on?) of the Accord will stay looking fresh a lot longer than much more heavily styled vehicles will.
Look at the 11 year old Accord and 11 year old Camry (both considered bland by many, I believe) vs. the 11 year old Taurus and 11 year old Skylark.
To me, the "bland" cars of yesteryear are more desirable than the "edgy" cars of the same time-frame.
-Loren
As far as style. I kinda like the effort by Toyota, yet the front is a bit odd. The best of all Camry efforts came in '92 when front, side and back look like they ALL worked well together. Too many cars fail due to being designed by committee ! Well they look that way. Look at the strange Ion. What's up with that?
-Loren
I'd suggest going with the EX 4-cyl before I'd go with the SE-V6 (pure preference - I wanted a sunroof and premium interior trim), but nobody will knock you for getting the V6. They're both just that good.
Here are my too "understated" cars (read by some as "boring'
I love my bland babies!
Back to the midsizers!
As for Mitsubishi, I see them as gone within a couple years, unless the dealerships can hold on, and hopefully grow in numbers. Not enough support. I enjoyed my Dodge Stealth / Mitsu. but did not expensive replacement parts and more problems in the car than expected for a Japan make. I would rate the car average for quality parts and excellent for fun and looks. That is sort of how I see Mitsubishi. We have but one sort of temporary looking dealer here now, with another one some 135 miles away. I think things are not well. Mitsu has some cool concept cars, so I hope they can make some sort of a comeback.
-Loren
Enjoy your new Altima, I'll bet its a hoot to drive!
Length 179.9 vs 189.8, Width 69.3 vs 70.7, Height 58.7 vs 57.9, Curbweight 3050 vs 3268. 21/29 vs 21/27. I like the looks of the new Lancer but will withold judgement until I see them at the dealerships.
The Leg GT sedans seem to be in short supply in my area as well. I think that might be because the dealerships are waiting for the revised body 2008's to start coming out?
Lots of good options out there now and when the new Accord rolls out and the Altima Coupe I think there will be a lot of nice looking (and reliable) iron out on the market in the next year or so.
"Based on honda's past the accord will be an updated more refined version of the present model. You can see the progression in the lines for each model change. I do not believe they will make major change like they did on the civic because of moders; toyota with scion and the small mitsu's."
Have you seen the concept coupe? The fact that this segment is so competitive alone will force Honda to bang the next Accord out of the park. I'm pretty confident they will.
Enjoy the Altima
I actually like the even older, pre-1995 Taurus looks better than the one you posted.
I have to disagree. This is obviously all my opinion, but when I bought my Mazda6 in '04, I tested the Accord more than once, and despite the more grunt that the Accord had with the V6, I felt that the Mazda6 was much more balanced, not only in the twisties, but on the highway as well.
My commute is about 20 miles one-way, on 70-75 MPH highways, and I tend to be the passer, rather than the passee, so to speak. The Mazda6 was always ready and willing to get up and pass at a moments notice. Drop a gear on the manual transmission, flick the steering wheel, and you've gone around slower traffic before they even realize that they're hogging the left lane (my BIGGEST pet peeve, BTW!) The road-hugging was excellent, the car felt sure-footed, and the ride was excellent. The Accord obviously had the go, but it felt uncomfortable at how it leaned too heavily during lane changes. The ride was smooth, but it felt too disconnected from the road. Not quite like a Buick, but not close to a BMW either.
Power is nice, but I'd rather have more control with it as well, and that's what I thought the Mazda6 excelled in
Simply put, they have to. I've read more than one interview with Honda executives, all saying that their biggest complaint from consumers is their styling. This goes for the whole line, not just the Accord. As a result, they are planning on doing a little more to step out of the crowd. The new CR-V is proof. Although I'm not a fan of the front end, the lines overall are striking, and not nearly as "vanilla" as the RAV-4.
The coupe concept is a good start, but Honda should do a little more to differentiate itself, while staying classy and true to it's heritage. Styling is subjective, but IMO it's also a deal-breaker between two cars that are about the same in every other way, according to a consumers eyes.
From the start I favored the Mazda because I have previously owned a 1991 Mazda 626 DX manual and a 1998 Mazda 626 ES-V6 manual, excellent cars in every regard. I still miss them both.
The Mazda6 (in my opinion) has a more eye-catching exterior, handles better at the limit, and has a lower initial cost.
The Accord wasn't too far behind in the above. I also liked the interior better, and (in my opinion) the Accord rides better, accelerates stronger, and has a more refined powertrain (engine, manual transmission and overall noise/vibration/harshness).
It was a tough call, but for me the deciding factors were reliability and resale value. There is a little too much Ford in the new Mazdas for me; CR rates Mazda6 reliability as only "Average." Too bad, as the older Mazdas lasted forever... Also, the projected resale value in 5 years is much higher for an Accord.
Anyway picked up the altima, whooohooooo...the 4 banger is smooth and likes to go. Had to watch my speed on the way home. 80MPH at about 2800 rpm in 6th.
As an aside the kids, mid to late teens, love the altima think it looks really cool but the wife thinks its ugly. Each to their own; at least she does not want to drive it. :P
-Loren
Nissan, on the other hand, has redefined the midsize sedan styling envelope, adding an air of elegance and distinction that did not exist before. That's why Altima sales have increased dramatically in the last five years, since the '02 redesign. For example, the frumpy '01 Altima was not even in the top 10 for car sales in the US. As of last year, the '06 Altima has climbed to #4 in domestic car sales. That's quite a jump by anyone's standards & is largely due to exterior styling & superior powertrains. I still think the '02 Altima body style looks much, much better than the '07 Accord be it in sedan or coupe form. I further agree that the '07 Altima did not change much in regards to exterior syle. Quite frankly, it didn't have to.
Steve
Very nice post. I was trying to keep my mouth shut on this topic because styling is very subjective, but I couldn't agree more.
-Loren
I would agree that the Altima has improved substantially in the last 6 years. But I would say it's more about "Flash" than "Elegance". Now the Altima has looks (at least to some) and performance. Before 02, it had nothing going for it. It's nice for Nissan, that the Altima can compete with a 5 year old Accord. Hope they enjoy their ONE year in the limelight.
Have you seen the Civic? Or the Accord Coupe "concept" unveiled in Detroit? They don't look like "boxes on wheels" to me.
Huh? you completely misunderstood what I said which was - the Mazda should be a better handling car that the others it was tested against. I hinted that it might actually be the standard traction control that might be hindering its performance in the slalom test results you cited, a manuever that will weight and unweight the front drive wheels and in the process possibly cause the traction contol to disable throttle.
VSC is NOT going to do anything but HURT performance in something like a slalom speed test. That's how it works, you pay a little in terms of ultimate vehicle capabilities, in exchange for some protection from your own 'dumbfootedness'.