2013-2014 Midsize Sedan Comparison

Are mid-size sedans all the car most people need? Some would argue yes. Unless your family exceeds five people, the majority of driving endeavors can be accomplished with one of these family sedans.

Some may want a larger vehicle, or a sportier one, but from a purely practical standpoint, a mid-size sedan has you covered. Need to haul more people or larger items? A local rent-a-car counter will gladly lend out a minivan or a pickup truck for a small fee; much smaller than the penalty of buying (and fueling) one of these large vehicles that are called upon on a handful of times.

Spacious, efficient and practical, mid-size sedans are designed for mass appeal and consumers are responding. After full-size pickup trucks, the four bestselling vehicles in America are mid-size sedans. This is why every mainstream manufacturer spends a lot of time and effort attempting to create an appealing car for the segment. And the work shows as it is hard to label any mid-size sedan on sale today as a ‘poor’; in fact, the majority are great. That said, is it possible for a new offering to stand apart from the crowd?

Mazda would like to think so. Recently engrossed in a #GameChanger hashtag party, Mazda believes its new 2014 Mazda6 will revolutionize the mid-size segment. The automotive press has been gushing over this all-new vehicle since it arrived earlier this year, and AutoGuide is just another guilty party.

The only way to see if the Mazda6 is the real deal or just a pretender to the throne is with a comparison test; a massive one. We sent invites out to every manufacturer to provide us with a fully loaded, four-cylinder mid-size sedan. Two manufactures, Dodge and Chevrolet, declined our offer as no suitable vehicle were available at the time and the Ford Fusion was a last minute withdraw thanks to an untimely recall. Eight manufactures did show up though and an epic shootout amongst the Honda Accord, Hyundai Sonata, Kia Optima, Mazda 6, Nissan Altima, Subaru Legacy, Volkswagen Passat and, of course, the Toyota Camry was all set.

Something had to come last in this comparison, and unfortunately for Kia, it was the Optima. Amazing how quickly things change. Three years ago the Optima was the fresh faced, all-new vehicle shaking things up in this segment and now it is one of the oldest. It is still a great looking vehicle, second only to the beauty queen Mazda6.

It was also the most heavily equipped vehicle in the test loaded with features like dual sunroofs, heated rear seats, a heated steering wheel and cooled front seats. Kia has been finding success with a formula of building attractive vehicles loaded with class defying options, all at a low entry price. In this test though, at over $29,000, plus thousands in accessories, the Optima was not a bargain.

Powering the Optima is a 2.4 L four-cylinder that generates 200 hp and 186 lb-ft of torque, which makes it the most powerful car in the set. The abundance of power is felt both in straight line acceleration and poor fuel consumption. Aside from the meaty powerband, the rest of the mechanics, like the transmission and suspension, are neither praise worthy nor offensive. Well, except for the steering; it is truly terrible. People ask what I consider poor steering feel – one example is when I can feel road imperfections and vibrations through my feet on the pedals, but not a thing through my hands on the wheel. I get this is not a sports car, but a little confidence and knowledge that the front wheels are doing what I am asking of them would be nice.

See Also: 2011 Kia Optima Review

Inside the Optima is nicely detailed with a driver focused dashboard and attractively styled steering wheel. Front headroom is lacking for anyone over 6 feet tall, but the seat is accommodating enough. Ride comfort and noise, vibration, harshness (NVH) are average at best and the rear seats are properly contoured, but tight on space. Of course we need to make obligatory mention of Kia’s wonderful 5-year all-inclusive warranty.

Mid-pack price, poor fuel economy and mediocre mechanics are enough to relegate the Optima to last. This Kia still is a good car, but the problem is, the competition has caught up. Coming eighth place amongst this crowd is nothing to be ashamed of; but eighth is still eighth.

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Tying the Toyota Camry for sixth is the Subaru Legacy. The Legacy has long been the no nonsense, pleated Khakis of the mid-size sedan market. Whereas Kia nails aspects like style, content and materials, but drops the ball on the mechanical bits, Subaru is the complete opposite. Mechanically the Legacy is great, but everything else is just plain old. Lacking any sort of style inside and out, the Legacy’s purpose is to get you from point A to point B even during a Sharknado.

See Also: 2013 Subaru Legacy Review

Fitting then, is the fact Subaru gave us the least equipped car of our test; a mid-trim Premium model instead of the fully loaded Limited which would have lined up better with the rest of the entries here. Lacking in our test Legacy was leather, a sunroof, navigation or a display touch screen, although they are all available on that upper level Limited version. And it wasn’t just the lack of features that were a let down inside the Legacy. As News Editor Luke Vandezande stated, the seating material looks like that of an old couch and one our videographers likened the pattern adorning the seatbacks to a set of drapes found in his parent’s kitchen during the 1980s.

Despite this, the Legacy is still comfortable inside and that boring, boxy shape provides excellent sightlines. It is also the only vehicle with trunk struts instead of cargo-space-robbing swing arms; more of Subaru’s love for practicality.

But, like an automotive equivalent to a mullet, the Legacy may be all business on the outside, but is all party behind the wheel. It is one of the more entertaining vehicles to drive here thanks mainly to nicely weighted steering and an eagerly responsive throttle. Even with the skinniest tires mounted to the smallest diameter wheels, the Legacy grips well in corners thanks to a perfectly balanced chassis; Subaru takes great pride in the Legacy’s 50/50 side-to-side weight distribution. The 173 hp boxer engine though is not refined and the CVT is as unpleasant as a rendition of the national anthem sung at a single ‘A’ baseball game.

But the Subaru’s real ace up its sleeve is, as usual, all-wheel drive (AWD). No other vehicle tested here has AWD available as an option at any trim level while Subaru equips it standard. This may not matter to some in more temperate southern cities, but for those in the snow- belt, this may be the sole reason for purchasing the car. Oh, and despite the weight and friction penalty of full-time all-wheel drive, the Legacy still finished mid-pack in fuel consumption.

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For the past 11 years, the Toyota Camry has been the best selling car in America. So what is it doing in a sixth place tie in this comparison? Well, it’s sales status, it isn’t the best in the segment. The vehicles in this segment are so closely matched, that just a miss here or there can mean the difference between a spot on the podium, or a back of the pack finish.

A jack of all trades, the Camry is easy to drive and predictable to live with. So what dragged it down so low in the results? Middle of the pack fuel mileage and a complete inability to stand out from the crowd are to blame. For a lot of people, the latter is great news as this segment caters to those looking for a vehicle that is dependable, anonymous and worry free. The issue for the Camry is, other vehicles like the Accord and Passat, do all of these things just as well while delivering a more premium interior, easier to use interface controls and a touch of driver engagement.

See Also: 2012 Toyota Camry Review (Video)

Powered by a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine that makes 178 hp and 170 ft-lbs of torque, the Camry matches up well against the rest of the vehicles here, except for the potent Optima. The drivetrain is smooth and refined, but groans under hard acceleration and feels less powerful than it is. Some found the ride in the Camry to be overly choppy while others found it to be one of the better overall suspensions setups.

Inside, the Camry is swathed in a mismatched array of too many different textures covering the dashboard and center console. The steering wheel is one of the worst in terms of look and feel. The infotainment unit drew some ire as the touchscreen audio is a bit finicky. On the plus side, the front seats are comfortable and the Camry offers the most real-world headroom for back-seat passenger.

The Camry does everything well, but nothing great. It is a good car, simply outmatched here by a few better ones. With a long history of dependability, and the class exclusive no maintenance fee Toyota Care program for two years, the Camry is sure to continue to sell in large numbers. Plus, a mid-cycle refresh is just around the corner, giving Toyota a chance to propel the Camry back to the front of the class.

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Just because the current Sonata’s design is older than Hans Moleman, doesn’t mean it isn’t still competitive in this segment. When introduced in 2009, the Sonata forced every other manufacturer to take notice of this new mid-size sedan. It blended style, luxury and refinement at an attractive price. Guess what; it still does.

But it is five years later and the Sonata is beginning to show its age. The interior feels dated and most materials feel nice, but look cheap when compared to recently redesigned competitors; just a by-product of how quickly this segment keeps advancing. Like its cousin the Optima, headroom is lacking for front seat passengers, though the seats are comfortable.

Still, the car has some advantages. It’s got the most trunk space of this bunch, and it comes stuffed full of features. Even with a price tag below $30,000, our tester had a panoramic sunroof, navigation, heated rear seats and satellite radio. The gauge cluster is great looking piece of engineering and the stereo is one of the better sounding units.

See Also: 2011 Hyundai Sonata Limited Review

Powering the Sonata is the same 2.4-liter engine as found in the Kia Optima, but making two less horsepower and two less pound feet of torque. Like the Kia, this isn’t the most refined drivetrain and the rest of the mechanics are average, except for the loathe-worthy steering. NHV and ride comfort are mid-pack, but the Sonata proves to be exceptionally quiet to our ears inside.

One annoying quirk we noticed with both the Optima and Sonata had to do with an overly aggressive traction control system. Although it took a lot to coax the system to activate during our nice sunny evaluation period, once engaged it’s far too aggressive in cutting power to the front wheels and feels more like the car has actually stalled. In snowy weather this could prove to be infuriating if the system was constantly engaging.

Another close call, in the end it was the unbeatable warranty and great value for the money that placed the Hyundai ahead of the three vehicles below it. Think of the Sonata as a more stylish (for better or worse), better equipped Toyota Camry. A complete redesign is just around the corner for this car and it will be interesting to see what tricks Hyundai has in store for us this time.

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The Nissan Altima proves to be the old-school luxury cruiser of the group. It looks and feels much more premium than it really is. In fact, during the test we keep calling it the Maxima by mistake – a testament of how closely this car mimics its larger brother.

When it comes to coddling occupants, no other car in this comparison can match the Altima’s overall comfort. The massive soft leather front seats are comfortable for most passengers, but some in our group of testers found there to be too much built-in lumbar support. All the materials used inside the Altima are high quality and the controls are easy to use. The Altima is also incredibly quiet inside and wafts down the road; it is a great freeway cruiser.

For all that is great about the Altima inside, there are some issues under the hood. The 182 hp 4-cylinder engine produces decent power, but challenges the Legacy for worst engine noise and least refined transmission. The engine does not feel all that powerful when on throttle either, but is incredibly efficient, battling the Honda and the Mazda for lowest observed fuel consumption.

See Also: 2013 Nissan Altima Review

Ride comfort was also found to be mid-pack – not quite as good as the Mazda6 or Passat, but better than the Legacy and Camry. We did notice an odd trait with the Altima under hard cornering though; the steering would randomly fluctuate and soften up without warning. We get this car will most likely never be driven that hard, but it was a bit unnerving nonetheless.

Another annoyance with the Altima has to do with an excessive amount of warnings. Even with all the vehicle’s driving assists turned off, the Altima kept beeping and buzzing at us. We found after a while the culprit to be the navigation system, which had its own layer of built in warnings. We were able to turn most of the warnings off, but didn’t get them all, and the Altima never fully shut-up.

At $30,000, the Altima is priced in the middle of this comparison, which is fitting for a vehicle that finished right in the middle. If you want to be coddled in luxury, and do not care much about how a car drives, the Altima is the mid-size sedan for you.

Fast Facts:

The Accord was all-new last year and Honda took great strides to ensure every aspect of the car was designed right. As a perennial top seller, Honda couldn’t afford to drastically change this bread and butter family sedan. So the manufacturer can be excused for the 2013 Accord looking so similar to the 2012 Accord. Although the exterior styling may not look drastically different, the updates do modernize the vehicle enough, while still remaining instantly recognizable as an Accord.

Inside the Accord receives soft front seats that easily contour to most drivers. Sightlines are great all around and if that’s not enough, there is the industry-exclusive lane watch camera (projecting what’s in your passenger-size blind spot onto the center screen) that should be available on every car. There are three customizable display screens and a fantastic looking gauge cluster as well as easy to use buttons throughout. The overall design of the interior is a bit busy, but most surfaces are finished in soft touch materials. The one sore point for us with the Accord’s interior is the steering wheel; it looks and feels a bit downmarket for this car.

We were split when it came to ride quality as some found the Accord to be harsh while others found it to be perfectly acceptable. We could all agree that the Accord was very quiet inside and NHV levels were judged to be some of the best. Handling was also judged to be near the top thanks to good steering feedback and a compliant chassis that is predictable in its actions.

See Also: 2013 Honda Accord Review – Video

Powering the Accord is a 185 hp four-cylinder engine paired up to a continuously variable transmission.
The drivetrain is responsive and powerful, but also quiet when off throttle. Despite the fact the Accord is equipped with a CVT, it still one of the best all-around drivetrains here. As a bonus, it’s also incredibly efficient and achieved the lowest as-tested fuel consumption in the comparison; impressive!

For decades the Accord has been one of the best all-around mid-size sedans on the market. It is just so good at everything it does. For 2013, the all-new model continues this tradition; but not quite good enough to match two others in this comparison.

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In a surprise second place finish appears the Volkswagen Passat. For anyone who has driven one of these German sedans, this won’t really be a surprise at all. But we have said it before and will say it again; the Passat is the forgotten child when it comes to the mid-size sedan segment. Many forget this vehicle even exists, or assume it is not really a Camry/Accord competitor.

Priced right on top of the Mazda6, the Passat is an incredibly attractive package that seems to never get the attention it deserves. Mature is be the best way to describe this car with its luxurious, subdued looks inside and out; though some might call this boring. The Passat feels like a baby-Audi, which is probably not a coincidence. The interior is well appointed and the fake suede inserts in the seats drew a lot of praise, although the driver’s seat does not feature a separate height adjust for the front portion of the seat and taller drivers found it lacked thigh support.

This large square-ish shape leads to great sightlines like we found with the Legacy. But, unlike the Subaru, the Passat also has features a massive trunk; second largest in the test. The Fender audio system sounds great, and is probably the best one here. The steering wheel itself also feels great; an item Volkswagen always seems to get right. Most of the controls are very easy to use, but the Bluetooth audio system proved to be buggy and gave a few of our reviewers issues.

See Also: 2012 Volkswagen Passat SEL V6 Review

With wide tires, Volkswagen’s trademark steering feel and a solid chassis, the Passat is one of the more engaging cars to drive. The 170 hp 5-cylinder engine may trail the other cars in terms of power, but sounds a lot better under hard acceleration thanks to the growl only a 5-pot can make. The downside is that the Passat achieved the second worst observed fuel economy after the Kia and isn’t the most refined engine in this test. The 6-speed automatic though was very smooth and rarely made itself known to the driver; just what you want from an automatic.

The Passat truly is the grown-up vehicle in a segment targeting grown-ups. Next year, the Passat’s main weakness, the five-cylinder engine gets replaced by a more efficient 1.8L turbocharged four-cylinder which will only make this car better.

Fast Facts:

As a brand, Mazda is miniscule compared to every other automaker in this comparison. The manufacturer is in a constant battle against a sea of Goliaths, but this time, the little guy came out on top. So what makes the Mazda6 so good?

Well, first of all, it’s gorgeous. The 19-inch wheels, front grille, curvy wheel haunches and tinted taillights make the 2014 Mazda6 look upscale and sporty. The interior is equally appealing with a simple, elegant design that again feels upscale and premium compared to a lot of the competition.

See Also: 2014 Mazda6 Review – Video

The front seats may very well be the best of the bunch and the steering wheel feels great. The Mazda6 is the only car available here with adaptive cruise control, yet did not have navigation; navigation is a standalone item that needs to be purchased on top of any trim level. Between the front seats is a knob and dial control that mimics similar systems found in BMWs and Mercedes. The only downside inside the Mazda6 is a somewhat tight backseat.

Under the hood is an all-new 2.5L four-cylinder engine that produces 184 hp. The engine is plenty powerful, but the six-speed automatic transmission requires a heavy foot to downshift into a lower gear when more power is required. Otherwise, the transmission glides along and is one of the best units here. Steering feel is superb and, like a good Mazda, the 6 handles phenomenally for family sedan.

Ok, so at this point you may be thinking we simply choose the sexy, sporty car as the winner of a comparison that should be about efficiency, practicality and comfort. Well that isn’t exactly true. What surprised us most about the Mazda6 is that it may well be the most refined car here as well. Despite having 19-inch wheels, the Mazda has one of the smoothest rides that is dead-quiet. Nearly no NVH makes its way into the cabin. Passengers could close their eyes and think they’re in a Lexus. It also barely trailed the Accord in observed fuel efficiency, finishing second overall.

The Mazda6 does deserve the praise it has been receiving. Will it begin to challenge the Accord, Camry or Altima for the sales crown? No, most likely not. But that just adds to its appeal in our eyes; a bit more exclusivity. Either way, a family sedan’s goal in life is to be the best all-around vehicle and the Mazda6 is just that. It excels at nearly everything and is the clear winner of this comparison test.

Fast Facts:

Thinking of buying a Honda Accord? Click here.

Thinking of buying a Hyundai Sonata? Click here.

Thinking of buying a Kia Optima? Click here.

Thinking of buying a Mazda6? Click here.

Thinking of buying a Nissan Altima? Click here.

Thinking of buying a Subaru Legacy? Click here.

Thinking of buying a Toyota Camry? Click here.

Thinking of buying a Volkswagen Passat? Click here.