2009 Hyundai Sonata

The Sonata earns very good government crash-test ratings, too. But when the nonprofit Insurance Institute for Highway Safety conducted its own crash tests, the Hyundai family sedan couldn't protect its driver as well as other family sedans do. The Hyundai Sonata did a "poor" job protecting the driver's pelvis and leg, and only an "acceptable" job protecting the driver's torso in a simulated crash involving an SUV or pickup hitting the Sonata in the side at 31 mph.  For the driver, "a fracture of the pelvis would be likely in a crash of this severity," IIHS concludes. "Rib fractures and/or internal organ injuries would also be possible." IIHS judged the Sonata's structure/safety cage only "marginal."

The Hyundai Sonata is a five-passenger sedan, with plenty of room and what reviews say is a very nice interior. The base GLS trim (*est. $18,700) includes amenities like MP3 and USB jacks, pinch-protect power windows and heated mirrors. Like all Sonatas, the GLS comes standard with a 175-horsepower, 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine; it achieves 25 mpg in mixed driving (21 city/32 highway with the five-speed manual transmission, 22 city/32 highway with the five-speed automatic).

For $2,000 to $2,550 (depending on trim level), you can add a 249-horsepower, 3.3-liter V-6 engine to any Sonata; fuel economy with the bigger engine drops to 22 mpg mixed (19 city/29 highway). On the GLS trim, the V-6 adds solar control glass and a leather-wrapped steering wheel. Both of those features come standard with the Hyundai Sonata SE (*est. $22,050) regardless of engine selection, along with more extras including a spoiler, fog lights, larger aluminum wheels and cloth/leather seats. The Hyundai Sonata Limited (*est. $24,550) adds chrome body trim, an Infinity six-CD stereo with subwoofer and amplifier, heated leather-trimmed seats, a power sunroof and a HomeLink transceiver embedded in the rearview mirror that can operate your house's garage door, lights and security system. Edmunds.com calls the Sonata Limited "certainly the most elegant environment one can inhabit for less than $25,000."

Consumer Reports provides the most useful and comprehensive analysis of the Hyundai Sonata, expertly assessing every aspect of the car and ranking it against dozens of other family sedans. Motor Trend's comparison test is smaller-scale, but still well done. ConsumerGuide.com, Edmunds.com and Kelley Blue Book test and rate the Sonata, although said tests aren't head-to-head. The Globe and Mail of Toronto does a helpful head-to-head comparison, but the reviewer doesn't mention actually testing the cars himself. We found objective fuel economy and crash-test data at government websites and at the nonprofit Insurance Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. J.D. Power and Associates rates cars' reliability based on extensive owner surveys.