Consumer Guide® Automotive places each vehicle into one of 17 classes based on size, price, and market position. Premium Midsize Cars sport interior dimensions similar to Midsize Cars. Premium Midsize Cars offer more luxury, performance, and prestige when compared to Midsize Cars. This segment is one of the industry's fastest-growing categories.

Our Best Buys include the Acura TL, Cadillac CTS, and Mercedes-Benz E-Class. Our Recommended picks include the Acura RL, Infiniti G35, and the Lexus ES 330.

Changes are already brewing for the latest RL. For starters, Acura says the 2006 model will add a standard crash-avoidance system. Already offered in Japan, it appears similar to Mercedes' "Pre-Safe" system. In both, sensors monitor vehicle movement; if they detect an unavoidable crash, the system is designed to automatically apply the brakes and tighten seatbelts. No word yet on how this will affect list prices.

In addition, sources say the new RL will soon follow smaller brother TL in offering a racy "A-Spec" package as a dealer option. The added bits don't make the car go any faster, but they do make it look faster--and maybe help a bit with taming twisty roads. Said to be priced at about $5000, the bundle comprises 18-inch wheels with 245/45YR "summer" tires, plus "aero" lower-body skirts and a discreet trunklid spoiler that allegedly have genuine aerodynamic benefit, being developed in Honda's own wind tunnel.

Further out, the RL might eventually offer one and possibly two features from Honda's new Accord Hybrid sedan. One is the gas-electric powertrain itself. Honda says its hybrid system is easily adapted to a wide range of vehicles, though the RL would doubtless use next-step technology in line with its flagship status. Or, Honda could add just the VCM cylinder-deactivation feature that boosts mileage not only in the Accord Hybrid but also the Odyssey minivan, whose V6 is very much like the RL engine. All this is only our guess, of course, but we don't think we're wrong.