Best Family Cars

Best family sedan overall: Hyundai Sonata

Critics are wowed by the redesigned 2011 Hyundai Sonata (Base MSRP: $19,395 to $27,245), which dethrones longtime king Honda Accord as the best family car. Like the old Sonata, the 2011 Hyundai Sonata is a tremendous value; unlike the 2010 model, however, it's sportier to drive and much more stylish. Inside Line praises the Sonata's design, calling it "striking in a way that other mid-priced sedans aren't" and "the new benchmark among mainstream large sedans."

Car and Driver names the 2011 Sonata one of its 10Best cars, and it beats seven other popular family sedans (including the Accord) to win the latest family sedan shootout at Cars.com. The 2011 Sonata boasts stellar crash-test scores and the best fuel economy of any conventional gas-powered family sedan (22 mpg city/35 mpg highway with the automatic transmission), and a leading consumer organization finds it very dependable -- more so than the Accord. The Sonata carries a whopping warranty, too: five years/60,000 miles basic and 10 years/100,000 miles powertrain. A hybrid Sonata is also available. It's covered in our separate report on hybrid cars.

The runner-up 2011 Honda Accord (Base MSRP: $21,380 to $29,630) still strikes a great balance for most families, according to reviewers: It's roomy and comfortable, with a more athletic feel than the Sonata. The Accord still makes Car and Driver's 10Best cars list and Edmunds.com's Top Recommended list, but it slips one place behind the less expensive Sonata in Motor Trend's latest family-car comparo -- and several places behind in Cars.com's sedan contest.

In fact, the midsize sedan category is crowded with very good cars that are now relegated to runner-up status behind the remarkable Sonata. The 2012 Ford Fusion (Base MSRP: $19,850 to $29,000) ranks as one of Edmunds.com's Top Recommended sedans, is judged the most dependable midsize sedan by J.D. Power & Associates and takes second place in Motor Trend's family-car comparo, where testers say its athletic performance makes it "the BMW of big-selling sedans." But the Fusion falls to last place in Cars.com's sedan shootout, partly because of some cheap-feeling cabin materials -- a flaw that Motor Trend notices, too.

Motor Trend testers grudgingly give first prize to the 2011 Toyota Camry (Base MSRP: $20,195 to $29,845): "Nobody wants to like this car. Everybody knows it's an automotive appliance … but for 99 percent of buyers in this category, the Camry simply nails the mission profile." With an upscale cabin, massive backseat and trunk, and controlled, quiet ride, the Camry places second to the more stylish, value-packed Sonata in Cars.com's family sedan contest. A "marginal" rear crash-test rating at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety drags the Camry down, though.

The 2011 Subaru Legacy (Base MSRP: $19,995 to $28,295) joins the Sonata and Accord as one of the best family cars of 2011, according to Parents magazine and Edmunds.com, and it's the only family sedan with standard all-wheel drive, but TheTruthAboutCars.com regrets that the Legacy has lost its athletic edge, and Motor Trend ranks it fifth out of seven tested family sedans. The 2011 Chevrolet Malibu (Base MSRP: $21,975 to $27,165) strikes testers at both Cars.com and Motor Trend as boldly attractive on the outside, but a little cheap and underpowered on the inside.

The sporty 2011 Mazda6 (Base MSRP: $19,990 to $29,320) is Popular Mechanics' top pick for a fun-to-drive midsize sedan, but Cars.com reviewers disagree, saying the Mazda6 isn't quite as powerful or athletic as the Honda Accord. The 2012 Nissan Altima (Base MSRP: $20,410 to $25,430) treats testers to an athletic drive, but Motor Trend says its gas mileage, backseat room and features list can't keep up with the Sonata's. The Altima tops one prominent testing agency's sedan rankings, but it drops to sixth place out of eight in Cars.com's sedan test, and last place in Motor Trend's.

The all-new 2012 Volkswagen Passat (Base MSRP: $19,995 to $28,995) is set to arrive in dealerships this summer, with its sticker slashed $7,000 from the previous model. It's the only family sedan with an available turbodiesel engine; it gets an eyebrow-raising 43 mpg on the highway. Critics are already enamored with this optional engine, which delivers an "addictive amount of low-end grunt that pulls with a vengeance" in a road test by Autoblog.com. With a capacious backseat and high-quality cabin, experts say the new Passat is a real contender.

Budget family sedans

The 2011 Kia Optima (Base MSRP: $19,200 to $26,200) is nearly identical under the skin to its corporate sibling, the top-rated 2011 Hyundai Sonata (Base MSRP: $19,395 to $27,245), but the Optima manages to load up with even more features at an even lower price than the Sonata. "Items on the loaded Optima that you can't even get on the Hyundai include the panoramic sunroof (regular sunroof on the Sonata), cooled front seats, driver seat memory, power front passenger seat, and a heated steering wheel," says Michael Karesh at TheTruthAboutCars.com. The Optima also gets bolder exterior styling, a cabin inspired by European cars that some testers find more upscale, and a slightly sportier steering feel. Both cars share the same strong engines, high fuel economy, excellent crash ratings and class-leading warranty -- although the cheaper Optima does shave a couple of years off the corrosion warranty (five years/100,000 miles, versus seven years/unlimited miles for the Sonata), and one consumer organization expects the 2011 Kia Optima to lose its resale value more quickly than the Hyundai Sonata. While the Sonata is built in Alabama with 41 percent North American parts, the Optima is imported from South Korea and uses only 1 percent North American parts, Edmunds Inside Line points out. Both the Sonata and Optima are also available as hybrids.

Very few family sedans come near the Optima's (or Sonata's) low price, much less boast the same safety, value and lengthy warranty. The comparably priced 2011 Dodge Avenger (Base MSRP: $19,245 to $23,745) and 2011 Chrysler 200 (Base MSRP: $19,245 to $26,240) do strike experts as better than their predecessors (the old Avenger and the Chrysler Sebring, which was basically a laughingstock), but they're still not good enough to challenge the Optima. The Avenger is a top pick at exactly one of our sources (the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, where it's a Top Safety Pick), but none of them chooses the Chrysler 200 as a top pick.

Large family sedans

The 2011 Buick LaCrosse (Base MSRP: $27,130 to $33,205) holds onto its title as the best large family car for a second straight year. A far cry from the geriatric land yachts of yesteryear, the LaCrosse was "reinvented, reshaped and reinvigorated" by its 2010 redesign, Edmunds.com says. It starts with a sleek new shape that Motor Trend calls "bold, even stunning," and continues into the luxurious cabin. "Even the door pulls are things of beauty," says Car and Driver, and Motor Trend points out that the LaCrosse "boasts a nearly five-inch advantage in rear-seat legroom" compared with the Lexus ES 350. The 2011 LaCrosse excels in all crash tests, too, earning a Top Safety Pick from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and a perfect 5-star overall rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. InformedForLife.org, a nonprofit group that bases its safety ratings on a vehicle's weight and stability as well as crash scores, ranks the 2011 LaCrosse in the top 5 percent of all vehicles. Elegant, spacious and safe, the LaCrosse is experts' top pick for families who want a sedan with stretch-out room.

Running neck-and-neck with the LaCrosse in reviews are the 2011 Toyota Avalon (Base MSRP: $33,195 to $36,435) and 2011 Ford Taurus (Base MSRP: $25,555 to $38,155). Both prove roomy, safe and reliable in reviews, but without the LaCrosse's youthful allure. Autoblog.com sums up reviewer consensus on the Avalon as "smoooooooth … a fine car for the 60-and-over set." And the LaCrosse beats the Taurus in a comparo at Car and Driver, where testers like the Taurus's comfy seats and vast trunk, but not so much its "lowest driver involvement" in the test and "corn-fed bull" bulk.

Read our in-depth family-sedan model reviews

Follow these links to individual ConsumerSearch reports to learn more about each car:

Best Reviewed family car overall: 2011 Hyundai Sonata (Base MSRP: $19,395 to $27,245)

Runner-up family car overall: 2011 Honda Accord (Base MSRP: $21,380 to $29,630)

Best Reviewed value family sedan: 2011 Kia Optima (Base MSRP: $19,200 to $26,200)

Best Reviewed large family sedan: 2011 Buick LaCrosse (Base MSRP: $27,130 to $33,205)

Runner-up large family sedan: 2011 Toyota Avalon (Base MSRP: $33,195 to $36,435)

Other in-depth family sedan reviews:

2011 Buick Lucerne (Base MSRP: $29,730 to $44,460)

2011 Chevrolet Impala (Base MSRP: $24,495 to $30,035)

2011 Chevrolet Malibu (Base MSRP: $21,975 to $27,165)

2011 Chrysler 200 (Base MSRP: $19,245 to $26,240)

2011 Chrysler 300 (Base MSRP: $27,170 to $40,320)

2011 Dodge Avenger (Base MSRP: $19,245 to $23,745)

2011 Dodge Charger (Base MSRP: $25,395 to $32,545)

2012 Ford Fusion (Base MSRP: $19,850 to $29,000)

2011 Ford Taurus (Base MSRP: $25,555 to $38,155)

2011 Hyundai Azera (Base MSRP: $25,495 to $30,095)

2011 Mazda6 (Base MSRP: $19,990 to $29,320)

2011 Mitsubishi Galant (Base MSRP: $21,599 to $23,999)

2012 Nissan Altima (Base MSRP: $20,410 to $25,430)

2011 Subaru Legacy (Base MSRP: $19,995 to $28,295)

2011 Suzuki Kizashi (Base MSRP: $18,999 to $27,299)

2011 Toyota Camry (Base MSRP: $20,195 to $29,845)

2012 Volkswagen Passat (Base MSRP: $19,995 to $28,995)

2011 Volvo S40 (Base MSRP: $27,750 to $31,150)