The Best Midsize Sedan for Under $27,000

Midsize sedans are not the bad boys of the auto world, but what they lack in sex appeal, they make up for with practicality you can learn to love.
"Sedans sell in high volumes because of their wide range of functionality," says Karl Brauer, senior analyst for Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com. "They can carry five people comfortably, plus enough luggage for a short-to-medium vacation. They also have relatively low insurance and maintenance rates."
And while midsize sedans' share of the total market has been slowly shrinking — giving up buyers to SUVs of all shapes and sizes, as well as to ever-larger "compact" cars — they continue this year to account for 22% of every new car, SUV, truck or van sold in the USA, according to Autodata.

Sales down 1.4% this year still have added up to 3,018,459 through October. The result is that every mainstream automaker continues to spend freely to field a competitive entry to try to get their slice of those sales.
For the latest Cars.com/USA TODAY/MotorWeek faceoff we brought together 10 of these cars for the $27,000 Midsize Sedan Challenge. The goal: Find the best moderately priced midsize sedan a budget-conscious family can buy.
The entrants were strictly limited to $27,000 on the sticker, including destination fees, and also had to offer good gas mileage — a minimum government rating of 28 miles per gallon.

The makers provided their pick for the most attractive version of their car for price. The cars were then scored in 11 categories as diverse as fuel economy, upholstery and driving feel.
And the winner is (drumroll): The pick of the Challenge expert and real family judges is the redesigned 2015 Hyundai Sonata Sport.
The Sonata topped the field in overall features and value, edging out 2015 models of Subaru Legacy, Mazda6, Volkswagen Passat, Chevrolet Malibu, Ford Fusion, Chrysler 200, Honda Accord, Nissan Altima and Toyota Camry.
But it was a close pack. Even if you would buy the one the Challenge judges scored lowest overall, the Camry, you'll get a capable car at a good price.
The spread between the Camry in the 10th spot and the Sonata in first is 182 points out of a possible 1,000 points. Once you get into the pack a bit, the differences get even smaller. Only 55 points separate the No. 5 Malibu from the No. 10 Camry.
Putting an exclamation mark on their overall similarity in concept and execution, eight of the 10 entrants showed up in shades of gray. But the cars showed significant differences and distinct personalities that could sway many shoppers, as the judges' comments in the results show.
Lessons from the Challenge:
• You can get a pretty nice car for this price — generally a trim or package above the base model.
If you haven't been in the market for awhile you might be surprised to find that typical features at this price include a backup camera, hands-free Bluetooth phone, streaming audio, top federal and insurance crash-test ratings and big trunks.
• These sedans deliver good fuel economy, amazingly so if you haven't been in one for a while.
In the 200-mile drive to gauge real-world gas mileage, the entrants (all with four-cylinder engines and automatic transmissions) ranged from the Fusion's 28 mpg at the low end to the Altima's 32.4 mpg at the top. The route included enough urban Baltimore stop-and-go that those numbers aren't overly influenced by highway driving.
• Thanks to intense competition in the segment, automakers have scrambled to deliver products with the newest looks and technology. The oldest entrant in the challenge, the Passat, rolled out as a 2012 model. The Fusion and Altima were redesigned as 2013 models, Chevy did a refresh of the Malibu for 2014, joining redesigns of the Accord and Mazda6. Sonata, Camry, Legacy and 200 are redesigns for 2015.
"The standards for sedans have gone up in recent years," says Kelley Blue Book's Brauer. "They used to be able to get away with relatively boring styling and basic features. Now they have to offer attractive body lines and the same features found on high-end luxury cars.
"That doesn't mean every sedan sold is loaded with technology, but many of them are, and all of them have to offer compelling, premium styling to have a chance in today's market.
Why all this attention for a segment not seeing growth?
"We don't care (about the segment decrease) because it is staggering, the sheer size of that market," says Al Gardner, CEO of the Chrysler brand at a recent news media event. SUV-dependent Chrysler spent big to create the all-new 2015 200. "There is a huge opportunity for us."
The future for sedans
And Jessica Caldwell, senior analyst at Edmunds.com, sees the dip in sedan sales vs. crossover SUVs as temporary, or at least not fatal. "We're seeing a lot of pent-up demand for crossovers, and we don't see the same pent-up demand for midsize cars."
She also says that the well-known midsize models can draw shoppers to an automakers' dealers, even if they buy something else. Often, she says, Edmunds data show it's a compact crossover SUV. "A lot of (compact SUV) buyers didn't come from compact SUVs. They've never owned one. So they could be coming from the midsize sedan segment. The price is about the same."
Average transaction prices this year through October, per Edmunds: Midsize cars, $25,546; compact SUVs: $26,383.
Unlike in the past, Brauer thinks SUV sales won't hit a pothole in favor of cars when gas prices rise again.
"If fuel prices were to spike again, it would somewhat dampen demand for midsize and large SUVs," he says, "but the compact and subcompact SUVs that are growing in popularity will likely be stealing sales from sedan forevermore."
Contributing: Brent Snavely, Detroit Free Press