Our car guy rethinks his opinions on a number of mid-sized sedans
With a new day job, I’ve had to rent cars a lot lately. As a car nerd, I refuse to rent the Kia Souls and Nissan Rogues and Chrysler 200s that make up most rental fleets. I’ve driven them and they’re loathsome. They make me feel sad inside.
Even experimenting with options a step up the ladder has been sad—Chevy’s supposedly-nice Malibu is a giant disappointment. I don’t even like the (V-6) Camaro, which can’t hold a candle to any Mustang variant.
Along the way, however, I’ve run into some gems, which got me thinking about how many really great cars there actually are, hiding in plain sight and often not out of budget for normal people, too.
Take that Mustang. The 460hp 5.0-liter V-8 (and the 526hp 5.2-liter) is an amazing car, but the almost unknown, 2.3-liter four-cylinder turbo Ecoboost should maybe be the one everyone knows. The little engine makes 310hp and it weighs over 150 pounds less than the big V-8s. It’s the sportiest variant of America’s Sports Car.
The Malibu may suck, but I fell in love with its big brother, the Impala. Is it on anyone’s shopping list, let alone any enthusiast? I think the approximately 20,000 units in dealer inventories around the country say no, but for the $20,000 they’re asking for a leftover 2017 model, you won’t get more car.
Last year, my editor bought an Infiniti Q50 sedan, despite me suggesting like 35 other choices. The previous generation Nissan/Infiniti transmissions were so unpleasant that they’d turned me off the whole brand, so I wasn’t even considering it.
I have deep regrets now, because it’s a masterpiece. Admittedly, he has some eco-friendly hybrid variant, and I haven’t tried that one, but the twin-turbo 3.0-liter V-6 is one of the best matches of powertrain and chassis I remember.
Impala? Q50? It’s time to revisit assumptions. What other sedans are overlooked yet great?
The Alfa Romeo Giulia
The high-performance variants won all the Car of the Year awards last year, but the base 2.0-liter 280hp sedan lists at $38,000, which is on the cheap end of Toyota Highlanders.
It may be an Italian performance car, but it’s also a sedan that fits four and you can actually afford the payments. Maybe get the extended warranty, though.
Jaguar XE
Jaguar has never offered smaller engines in their cars here, until now. The XE gets either a 247hp turbo four, or a 180hp (and 269 lb-ft) diesel--yes, an English diesel, which comes with a 25/34 mpg rating yet will still get to 60 mph in 6 seconds.
If you think “Jaguar” and “Affordable efficient cars” aren’t words you normally put together, you’re not alone.
But Jaguar has put together a gorgeous, solid car that again scoots out the door for less than a Toyota SUV. How is that even a choice?
Toyota Avalon
I’m always pushing this nearly invisible car. They all have either a 268hp 3.5-liter V-6 or 200hp 2.5-liter hybrid, and what they are is a Lexus without the Lexus badge or the baggage that goes with it. Toyota’s take on the traditional big sedan has always been overlooked, and the lack of demand keeps them affordable.
Hyundai Azera
Another out-of-the-park, powerful, feature-laden large Asian sedan clogging up dealer inventories, especially because there’s no 2018 model, just hundreds of old ‘17s in the sub-$30,000 range.
Incidentally, it was also one of the most reliable cars made in recent years. See the November ‘17 Airbag for more.
Buick Regal GS
I’d ask why people aren’t buying these, but the answer is pretty obviously that people aren’t looking to Buick for a performance sedan.
But there it is, an AWD 259hp Buick with leather bucket seats and everything else. You can name your price on these.
David Traver Adolphus is a freelance automotive researcher who quit his full time job writing about old cars to pursue his lifelong dream of writing about old AND new cars. Follow him on Twitter as @proscriptus.