Perennial Best Buys Honda Accord and Toyota Camry continue to shine with refinement, model diversity, and comfort. Both come in coupe and sedan form, offer economic 4-cylinder or sporty V6 power, have room for four adults, and are reasonably priced.
Recommended models include the smooth Buick Century, the import-flavored Chevy Malibu, the sporty Nissan Maxima, surprising Olds Intrigue, and the good-looking Pontiac Grand Prix. All come with V6 power, offer lots of standard equipment, and have pleasing road manners that will suit a variety of driving styles.
If you are looking for something a touch bigger without spending a whole lot more we suggest the Budget Buy Chevy Impala. It's the largest car in this class, has a powerful V6, and doesn't cost any more than the others.

Though its calendar-1999 sales were down somewhat from '98 levels, Malibu still pulled in over 200,000 orders and trended upwards year-over-year in the first four months of 2000. Malibu should see little basic change until 2005, when a new-design replacement arrives. That car will be built on yet another new General Motors platform called Epsilon, which is also destined for the next-generation Pontiac Grand Am and Oldsmobile Alero. Not much else is known yet about the '05 Malibu, but sources say it will be slightly wider outside and correspondingly roomier inside than today's model.