This diverse segment offers the widest price range. It covers everything from the $34,000 Saab 9-5 to the $130,000 Mercedes-Benz SL500. Obviously our Best Buys are somewhere in between. We think that the Acura RL is a steal at $42,000 fully equipped. Though it is a front-drive V6 in a field of V8 rear-drive models, it has a great ride, plenty of power, and is quite luxurious. Mercedes-Benz E-Class, though a bit long in the tooth, also continues to impress with its impeccable road manners and luxurious comfort.

If you are looking for something a bit more sporting we recommend the BMW 5-Series. If your taste ranges more toward the luxury end, then take a look at the Cadillac DeVille or Lexus GS 300.

In a minor surprise, the 9-5 squeaked by the less-expensive 9-3 in calendar-2000 sales, posting a near 20-percent gain to just shy of 20,000 units. The difference? A mere 525 cars, close enough for a Florida election.

The 9-5 is said to be in for a minor facelift in a year or two. Its next major change comes at mid-decade, when the 9-5 moves to parent General Motors' new Epsilon platform. The 9-3 does the same for 2004. Despite this merger, the new senior Saab will be slightly longer and wider than the next 9-3--about the same size, in fact, as the Epsilon-based 2004 Chevy Malibu and Pontiac Grand Am. The 9-5 will also remain upstream of 9-3 in standard features and, of course, price. Sedan and wagon body styles should continue with a choice of several engines, but that's about all anyone can safely say at this point.

Saab is getting its own version of the Buick Rendezvous/Pontiac Aztek for 2004 (see "News" under 9-3), but the Swedish maker has reportedly been working up a second "crossover" vehicle. Code-named "9-W," it's like the Audi allroad in being a regular 9-5 wagon turned into a quasi-SUV via extra ground clearance, bigger wheels and tires, standard all-wheel drive, and special trim. A big GM-designed V8 had been the rumored power source, but a more likely prospect is a new turbocharged Saab version of the European GM 3.0-liter V6 used in today's 9-5s. Though the status of this project is unclear, 9-W wouldn't appear before the 2006 model year unless GM puts it on a fast track, which doesn't seem likely at the moment.