Best Sedans For 2021

The TLX is all-new for 2021 and a dramatic departure from the previous TLX. Longer, lower, and wider, it rides an all-new platform clothed in a prettier, more athletic shape than its predecessor. The makeover is part of an ongoing reinvention of the Acura brand. The automaker is specifically to recapture the sporty image it had in the 1990s and the new TLX offers a more involving but still luxurious driving experience. The regular TLX’s 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine returns 272 horsepower, up 66 horses from the 2020 model. As before TLXs can be had with front or all-wheel drive. Acura will soon add an even sportier 335-horsepower V6 Type S version.

Audi’s A5 began life in 2007 as a stylish and sporty two-door version of the A4 sedan. In time it gained a sleek fastback “four door coupe” bodystyle, the Sportback, and the A5 was totally redesigned for 2017. The Sportback’s four doors make it more practical than the A5 coupe and cabriolet, but it sacrifices none of their slick styling or sharp driving dynamics. All A5’s are all-wheel drive and packed with modern tech and luxury features, including massaging front seats on the S5 and RS5. Regular A5’s start out with 201- or 261-horsepower four-cylinder engines while the performance-oriented S5 offers a 349-horsepower V6. If that’s not enough, the nearly track-ready RS5 has twin turbos and 444 horses.

Many cars have tried competing head-to-head with the BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-class, and few have succeeded as well as the new-in-2017 Genesis G70. Though heavily-optioned BMWs will outperform it, the G70 offers style, speed and luxury on par with its rivals for far less money, model for model. The G70 comes with either a 252-horsepower 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine or a 365-horsepower V6 and rear- or all-wheel drive. It also offers a manual transmission for enthusiasts, which the 3 Series no longer does. Its cabin is visually striking and rich with technology, too. Genesis may not have much history, but all its models have ten year warranties, far more than any other luxury brand.

The G80 is all-new for 2021, and replaces the original G80, which formed the basis of the Genesis brand in 2016. The redesigned G80 looks the part of an opulent luxury car inside and out. It sports a sleek fastback profile and lots of delicate chrome detailing outside. On the inside it’s restrained but beautifully detailed and user friendly, with a massive and easy-to-use 14.5-inch infotainment screen atop the dashboard. The sum is a car that looks and feels as expensive as rivals from Audi or Mercedes-Benz, but as with the other Genesis models sells for thousands less. Power comes from a 300-horsepower 2.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine or a twin-turbo 375-horsepower V6; both in rear or all-wheel drive.

The Accord has been a quality car and a market leader among family sedans since the first Accord sedan was introduced in 1977. The tenth-generation Accord was introduced in 2018 and was again a benchmark against which other family sedans are judged; a practical and reliable all-arounder. The car’s long, sloping roof, creased fenders and bluff front end give it lots of character, something missing from the Accord since the mid-1990s, and it’s been given some light visual updates for 2021. It handles and drives enthusiastically, too. Honda, long averse to turbocharging in road cars, equips the Accord with a pair of turbocharged four-cylinder engines, a 192-horsepower 1.5-liter and a 252-horsepower 2.0-liter, both of them eager and frugal. Lightest of all on fuel is the 212-horsepower Accord Hybrid, which returns 48 mpg, city or highway, according to the EPA. In fine Honda tradition, the Accord’s interior is logical, practical, and user friendly.

Introduced in 2019 as a 2020 model, Hyundai’s eighth-generation Sonata has come a long way since the first U.S.-bound models were sold here in 1989. Though only marginally larger than the 2019 Sonata, the 2020 model is 1.5 inches lower and its eye-catching, shark-nosed styling makes it look bigger than it actually is. It isn’t as aggressive to drive as it looks, but it’s a decent performer with its 1.6-liter, 180-horsepower or 2.5-liter, 192-horsepower four-cylinder engines. Performance from the fuel-sipping hybrid, with a 192-horsepower 1.6-liter four, is similar. At the top end of the lineup, there’s a much more powerful N Line version, with a 290-horsepower 2.5-liter four. The Sonata hybrid gets 51 mpg highway. The Sonata excels on value, packing a large standard suite of driver assistance technology and many desirable features at a relatively low price.

New for 2021, the dramatically-styled K5 replaces Kia’s long-serving Optima, building on the combination of style and value introduced on earlier generations of the Optima. The K5 takes visual cues from the larger, performance-focused Kia Stinger, subtly flared fenders and long fastback roof among them, and translates them into a family-friendly package. The clean, modern interior is packed with nice features, and like the related Hyundai Sonata, a good complement of standard driver-assist goodies. A long options list means buyers can configure the K5 in many different ways, but all are good values. Most K5’s are powered by a 180-horsepower 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine, but the top-spec GT gets a 290-horsepower 2.5-liter turbo four.

Mazda, adept at making seemingly ordinary cars lots of fun to drive, has steadily improved the Mazda3 through four generations since 2004. The most recent arrived in 2019. In style and feel, it could easily pass for a premium-brand machine, with show car styling and a clean, modern interior with obvious attention to detail. It comes as a sedan or hatchback, the latter offering more cargo space and a curvaceous shape that always looks like it’s in motion. In 2020, all models were powered by a 186-horsepower 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine, with front- or all-wheel drive. For 2021, there are new models on both ends: a 2.0-liter 155-horsepower base model with front-wheel drive, and an optional 250-horsepower turbocharged 2.5-liter version with front- or all-wheel drive. An engaging and rewarding drive for an enthusiast, there’s even an optional manual transmission, but the Mazda3 doesn’t demand any compromises from regular consumers who just want really nice transportation.

The latest in a long line of Mercedes-Benz’s midsize standard bearers, the current E-class was introduced for 2017 and has been recently refreshed for 2021, with updated styling and some additional models. It carries on many Mercedes-Benz traditions as you’d expect, being packed with state-of-the-art technology, including a full complement of assisted-driving systems and Mercedes-Benz’s new MBUX infotainment technology. Like all E’s before it, passengers sit in a comfy and luxurious cabin. There are four current engines corresponding to the trim lines, the E350 houses a 2.0-liter, 255-horsepower four-cylinder, the E450 a 362-horsepower V6, the AMG E53 housing a 369-horsepower inline six and the AMG E63 S packing a heavy-hitting 603-horsepower V8. A plug-in hybrid, the E350e, is due this year.

2021 will be the Volkswagen Golf’s final year in the USA, though the Golf GTI will live on. That’s a shame, because even though the current seventh-generation Golf dates back to 2013, it’s still a high-quality, practical value machine. The Golf and GTI share the same cavernous, comfy, no-nonsense interior and upright hatchback body, though the GTI clothes the inside in nicer materials. The Golf is motivated by a 1.4-liter 147-horsepower four-cylinder engine while the GTI uses a 2.0-liter 228-horsepower four. Both are turbocharged and both offer manual or automatic transmissions. The GTI is faster, with higher handling limits, but both are fun to drive, reasonably priced, and have lots of cargo space.