Comparison review: Ten 2013 midsize sedans (introduction) (Photos)

The midsize family sedan is many automakers' best-seller, and not without good reason. These family-friendly four-doors by and large are fairly spacious, affordable and fuel-efficient – striking what many find to be the ideal balance between a compact car that's too small or cheap-feeling and a pricier full-size or luxury sedan.

View slideshow: 2013 midsize family sedans

Just within the last few months, quantum leaps in several redesigned models have thrown off expectations for what's reasonable to expect from a big four-door priced from the low $20,000s. Economy-car fuel economy and luxury-car style are newly accessible along with more traditional virtues. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety also recently ran midsize sedans through its demanding new small-overlap offset crash test – highlighting true safety winners and losers in a marketplace where top scores are expected.

With the bar as high as it is in the midsize family sedan class, it's hard to find a car that looks like a true loser – or the true winner. That said, the different models were each designed with particular tradeoffs that will fit some buyers better than others – style versus utility, ride versus handling, luxury versus value, and others. Some of these cars, too, have flaws that keep them clearly short of that high bar.

This comparison relies on test drives and analyses of price, safety and fuel economy of 10 midsize sedans at the heart of the market to pick winners and losers for different types of customers, and to rank them from top to bottom overall.

Rating the midsize sedans: How do the cars compare in different ways, such as comfort, safety and fuel economy?
Ranking the midsize sedans: How do the cars stack up for different types of buyers?
Quick take: Short summary reviews of the 10 cars.

The 10 cars tested and reviewed for this comparison are the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu 2LT, 2013 Dodge Avenger SXT, 2013 Ford Fusion SE, 2013 Honda Accord EX-L, 2013 Kia Optima EX, 2014 Mazda6 Grand Touring, 2013 Nissan Altima 2.5 SL, 2013 Subaru Legacy 2.5i Limited, 2013 Toyota Camry XLE, and 2013 Volkswagen Passat SE. (See photos of these cars in today's slideshow.)

The tested cars come nicely equipped with leather seats and a sunroof, but are powered by their base four-cylinder engines rather than a pricier and less fuel-efficient V6 or a turbo. (With two exceptions – see note*.) Most have sticker prices in the upper $20,000s and are projected to sell for around $25,000 after haggling and discounts. Most of their EPA fuel economy ratings, too, are in the upper 20s – a domain previously reserved for much smaller vehicles.

No. 1-seller

Long the best-selling passenger car in the country, the Toyota Camry (2012 sales: 404,886) was redesigned for the 2012 model year, offering upgraded interior quality, increased fuel economy and improved handling responsiveness – but five of its competitors have since been overhauled.

New for 2013

Four of 2012's six best-selling midsize sedans were redesigned for the 2013 model year:

The Honda Accord (No. 2; 331,872 sales) is roomy, fuel-efficient and polished, but pricey. The Nissan Altima (No. 3; 302,934) now has subcompact-rivaling fuel economy estimates of 31 mpg, but is otherwise more adequate than exceptional. The Ford Fusion (No. 4; 241,263) adopted newly sleek styling and slicker driving dynamics at the expense of some everyday livability. And the Chevrolet Malibu (No. 6; 210,951) upgraded its interior quality and in-cabin technology but remains less roomy than most competitors.

New for 2014

No, that's not a typo – several 2014-model vehicles are already on sale as of this writing in February 2013, including the Mazda6, which is sporty and fuel-efficient but quite expensive if you want certain options. Its predecessor had made no recent splash on the sales charts; just 33,756 Mazda6s sold last year.

Newly big names

The Hyundai Sonata / Kia Optima, redesigned for 2011; and the Volkswagen Passat, redesigned in 2012, soared in popularity after their overhauls. Of the three, only the Sonata could have been called a major player in the marketplace prior to those redesigns; now, all three sell strongly – the Sonata was No. 5 in the class last year with 230,605 sales, the Optima was No. 7 with 152,399, and the Passat was No. 10 with 117,023.

The Korean twins (represented by the Optima in this comparison) are powerful, stylish and fuel-efficient, but lack the interior room and polished driving dynamics of some competitors. The Passat has a cavernous interior but is neither fuel-efficient nor sporty.

Still-small names

The Chrysler 200 / Dodge Avenger and Subaru Legacy haven't changed much recently and are on relatively few buyers' radar.

The 200/Avenger (represented by the Dodge in this comparison) was overhauled for the 2011 model year but dates to 2007 – and its early reviews could be gently described as less than glowing. The 2011 changes are a considerable step up, and steeply discounted prices undercut even some compact cars, much less all competing midsize models. The 200 was the No. 8-selling midsize car last year with 125,476; the Avenger was No. 11 with 96,890.

The Legacy was just updated for 2013, with more features, revised suspension tuning, and improved fuel economy, but it fundamentally dates to 2010. Unlike its wagon/crossover variant, the Outback, the Legacy sedan accounts for relatively few sales: 47,127 last year. It has standard all-wheel-drive and an airy cabin, but its driving dynamics weren't even special by 2010 standards.

More from this comparison:
Rating the midsize sedans: How do the cars compare in different ways, such as comfort, safety and fuel economy?
Ranking the midsize sedans: How do the cars stack up for different types of buyers, such as those who prefer performance or who prefer value?
Quick take: Short summary reviews of the 10 cars.
Coming soon: Full reviews and photo galleries of each of the 10 cars.

*Note on engines: The tested Ford Fusion is equipped with an upgraded four-cylinder engine that is more comparable in performance to the others in this comparison than its base unit. The Volkswagen Passat has a standard five-cylinder engine that competes with the others' four-cylinders.