This hotly contested segment has a clear benchmark, it is the Acura TL (and its 2-door cousin Acura CL). The TL succeeds in blending comfort, style, luxury, and sport into an efficient package at an affordable price.

But the Acura's not for everyone. We also recommend the sporty and Euro-flavored Audi A6, the comfortable Buick Park Avenue, the affordable and fast Infiniti I30, and the luxury-orientated Lexus ES 300.

Park Avenue sales recovered slightly in calendar-year 1999 to near 63,000 units, up nearly 5000 from '98. In 2000, however, orders are running slightly behind '99 for the January-April period, a situation recently reflected in some cash incentives on Park Avenue.

Buick's flagship sedan isn't slated for a full redesign until model-year 2003, though one source says this could be put back to '05, possibly to synchronize the next Park Avenue with the next redesigned LeSabre. Both models currently share the General Motors G-platform, a relationship that should continue for their successors. No word on specifics yet, but the next Park Avenue will probably strive for a more youthful look inside and out. Dimensions should not change appreciably, and front drive will continue.

Meantime, the adoption of the Stabilitrak antiskid system for the 2000 Park Avenue suggests that other Cadillac-pioneered features will find their way into this Buick before it is redesigned. Likely candidates include rear side airbags, air-bladder "adaptive" front seats, roller-massage front seats, infrared Night Vision system, and ultrasonic rear parking-assist proximity warning. All are already standard or optional for Cadillac's various DeVille models.