While many Americans have replaced the full-size family sedan in their driveway with an SUV of some configuration or another, there are many who still prefer the stance, the comfort, and the increasing originality of choosing a big sedan.
If you disregard luxury cars, wagons, and crossover SUVs, you’re left with 11 vehicles for sale in America today that fit our description of a full-size car. Some of them aspire to be large, comfortable, and generally un-offensive. Some go for a whiff of luxury. And some are basically pony cars with an extra set of doors.
So if it’s been a while since you shopped for a full-size sedan, you may be surprised how far they’ve come in recent years without much fanfare. These are the top ranking affordable large cars on the market according to U.S. News & World Report’s rankings.
The Chevrolet Impala tops our ranking of affordable large cars because it offers a little of everything. There is a large trunk, a nice cabin, simple dashboard controls, and a nice balance between ride comfort and handling performance, all in a front-wheel-drive package capable of 31 mpg on the highway with the four-cylinder engine option. Those interested in more power can upgrade to a 305-horsepower V6.
The driving experience is often described with words like “effortless” and “refined,” so it is not for the enthusiast crowd. However, critics nonetheless found it competent enough to handle a little extra push around the bends.
The Impala boasts ample room for adults in both the front and rear seats, and it has the second largest trunk in the class at 18.8 cubic feet. Test drivers say the Impala feels like a luxury car inside, and uses a pleasing combination of knobs, buttons, and a touchscreen for interior controls.
Driver visibility is better than most, and the Impala can haul around four grown men for long distances without any undue strain.
The Buick LaCrosse was fully re-designed for 2017. Like its cousin, the Chevrolet Impala, it is based on General Motors’ Epsilon II platform, and bears many of the same characteristics. It gets up to 31 mpg on the highway, has a quiet and comfortable ride, and handles better than you might think. All in all, the LaCrosse blends comfort and performance more fluidly than anything else in the class.
Critics appreciated the elegance of size of the LaCrosse’s interior, and although you have to pay extra for some of the LaCrosse’s most desirable features, it still ranked No. 2 among affordable large cars, right behind the Impala. Leatherette upholstery is standard, but if you want real leather and heated seats, you’ll have to pay an extra $6,000, making the LaCrosse a little pricey compared to competitive cars like the Kia Cadenza.
Tied with the LaCrosse for No. 2 in our rankings is the 2017 Kia Cadenza, which has been totally re-designed and boasts an array of standard features, along with 290 horsepower and Kia’s much-noted 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty. The Cadenza is at its best chewing up miles on the freeway. Fuel economy is 28 mpg on the highway and 20 in the city, which are average numbers for the class.
Kia has flushed out any sense of cheapness from its interior, which helps mitigate the frustration of a less-than-ideal infotainment system and relatively small trunk. The cabin’s airiness pleased a lot of test drivers, and standard leather upholstery is a nice touch.
In upper trim packages, you get Nappa leather upholstery, heated and power-adjustable front seats, tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel, and heated rear seats. Keep in mind the sloping roofline in the rear may encroach on headroom for taller rear passengers.
Unassuming on the outside, the Chevrolet SS is a savage underneath. It seats five, has rear-wheel drive, 415 horsepower, and is available with a manual transmission. All in a package that might easily be mistaken for a Malibu.
The SS is, above all else, a driver’s car. Despite weighing 4,000 pounds, test drivers say it behaves like a smaller vehicle, thanks to a well-tuned suspension and eager V8 engine. You do pay a price for all that power, however. The SS is one of the least efficient vehicles in its class, managing just 20 mpg on the highway with the automatic transmission.
The best thing about the interior is the user-friendly infotainment system. That is unless of course you’re like a lot of SS buyers, which is to say you’d otherwise be buying a Camaro or a Corvette, but you need four doors. In that case the rear seat might be a primary selling point. Most critics agree the SS can comfortably carry five, as advertised. However, there is debate about headroom in the rear, as some taller passengers may feel squeezed. Overall, the SS ranks fourth on our list.
Test drivers are generally dubious on Nissan’s claim of the Maxima being a “four-door sports car,” but a standard 300-horsepower V6 at least makes it a debate. It isn’t quite a 3 Series fighter, but most buyers will be impressed with its acceleration and handling, and most critics agree it is among the most luxurious and sporty sedans in its class. Despite all that, it gets 30 mpg highway. This is achieved, in part, thanks to the Maxima’s horsepower-to-weight ratio of 11.6 pounds per horsepower.
Know that Nissan transmits that power to the wheels via a continuously variable transmission (CVT). That’s a type of automatic transmission that has no gears and creates a sensation some drivers find odd. Nissan has combated this by making its CVT simulate shifting.
The biggest change for 2017 is that Apple CarPlay is now standard, making an already good infotainment system even more useful. The Maxima’s luxurious interior stood out to most test drivers, who compared it to the interiors found in the likes of Infiniti, Acura, and BMW.
Cloth seats are standard, with leather available for more money. The front seats are comfortable, while space in the rear might best be described as “just enough.”
Looking to get a great deal on a new sedan? Use the U.S. News & World Report Best Price Program, where shoppers save an average of $3,279 off their new car purchase.
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These Are the Best Full-Size Cars
While many Americans have replaced the full-size family sedan in their driveway with an SUV of some configuration or another, there are many who still prefer the stance, the comfort, and the increasing originality of choosing a big sedan.
If you disregard luxury cars, wagons, and crossover SUVs, you’re left with 11 vehicles for sale in America today that fit our description of a full-size car. Some of them aspire to be large, comfortable, and generally un-offensive. Some go for a whiff of luxury. And some are basically pony cars with an extra set of doors.
So if it’s been a while since you shopped for a full-size sedan, you may be surprised how far they’ve come in recent years without much fanfare. These are the top ranking affordable large cars on the market according to U.S. News & World Report’s rankings.