First Glance: Super size me!

The 2009 Mazda6 is my new favorite mid-size family sedan. Why? First of all, it does family-sedan stuff brilliantly well. It's roomy and fuel-efficient with a great cabin and a very reasonable price tag. Second, it makes safety a priority, with six airbags and electronic stability control standard in all models, even the cheapest one. And third, it's brilliant to drive. The standard four-cylinder engine delivers plenty of power (the optional V6 delivers tons more) and the road manners are fantastic -- the Mazda6 is amazingly fun in the curves, yet it has a smooth, quiet ride that makes it a pleasure to live with on a day-to-day basis. If there's a downside to this car, I haven't found it yet.
The Mazda6 has always been popular among people who love to drive, but it fell down on many of the aspects most important to mid-size buyers: Back seat room, trunk space, engine power, and (by Mazda's own rather candid admission) build quality. Normally, having a niche product is a good thing -- but with almost 3 million Americans buying mid-size sedans in 2007, and only a small fraction of them taking home a Mazda6, Mazda decided it was time to get a bigger slice of the pie chart.
Mazda's formula was simple: Copy Nissan. Back in 2001, the Nissan Altima was a smallish four-cylinder sedan sized somewhere between a compact and a Camry. In 2002, Nissan introduced a bigger Altima, exclusive to the North American market, with options including a muscle-car V6 engine. Sales exploded, and the invincible duo (Toyota Camry and Honda Accord) became the invincible trio.
The 2009 Mazda6 follows the same pattern. While the previous Six was the same as the car sold in Europe, the new Six is exclusive to the US, Canada and Mexico. Everything is bigger -- length, width, cabin and trunk volume, engine sizes, even the car's commitment to safety. The new Six casts a shadow larger than the Camry and Altima and just a shade smaller than the Accord. Viewed from the front (link goes to photo), there's a distinct family resemblance to Mazda's RX-8 sports car, while the teardrop-like profile reminds me of Nissan's Maxima (as well as Mazda's MX-6 from the 90s -- anyone remember that one? Man, what a beautiful car.)

First Glance: I'm not lying

If you still have any lingering doubts that Hyundai can produce a decent car, you need to check out the Genesis, a full-size luxury sedan that comes frighteningly close to out-Lexusing the Lexus LS460. The Genesis is big, beautiful, quiet and smooth, and since it's a Hyundai at heart, it's a great deal -- $33,000 for starters and $42,000 with goodies like a leather-covered dash, dial-operated navigation system, a 17-speaker stereo by Lexicon (the folks that make sound systems for Rolls-Royce), and a fantastic 375 hp V8. Frankly, this car would make the Best Of list no matter who built it -- but I just love the fact that it's a Hyundai.
Allow me to start with a disclaimer: I am not lying. I am only pointing that out because I expect a large number of readers not to believe me when I talk about how good the Hyundai Genesis is. There are a lot of people who are convinced that Hyundai simply cannot build a decent car. Not that I blame them; twenty years ago Hyundai was peddling the Excel, a car that cost $45 to build and was made out of compressed squirrel turds. Who in their right mind would believe that Hyundai could come so far, so fast? (Answer: Anyone who's bought a Hyundai in the last 3 or 4 years, but that's another discussion.)
For those who are inclined to believe me, I'll give you the short version: The Genesis Sedan is a Lexus. It drives like a Lexus. It coddles you like a Lexus. It even smells like a Lexus. It's a $33,000 Lexus, unless you go for the V8 model, in which case it's a $38,000 Lexus with the engine from a $60,000 Mercedes. Have I convinced you? Good. Stop reading and go buy one. Go on, I'll wait.
Still skeptical? OK, guess we'll have to take the long road. But if you're waiting for the other shoe to drop -- for me to write something like "It all seems very Lexus-like, until you look under the dashboard and discover that the electrical components are made of paper-mâché" -- you're going to be sorely disappointed. Towards the end I might wax a bit clairvoyant and ponder the wisdom of selling a luxury car for thousands less than it's actually worth, but other than that, it's going to be all sunshine and daisies. Don't say I didn't warn you.

The second-generation Honda Fit is on this list for the same reason the first-gen Fit made the list in 2007: It's a brilliant example of space and fuel efficiency. Tiny as the Fit is, it's still the only subcompact that can accommodate four adults and their luggage in comfort. Leave at least two of those adults at home, and the Fit can accommodate all manner of cargo, thanks to a trick back seat that flips and folds nine ways to Sunday. The Honda Fit is reasonably priced, nicely equipped, and has a zippy little engine that returns great fuel economy -- plus it's a right handsome little devil.
Before we start talking about the new Fit, let's talk a bit about the old Fit. The original Fit earned a place on my Best New Cars of 2007 list, despite being just one of several new mini-cars introduced to the US market that year. What made the Fit so great was the apportioning of space between front seat, back seat and cargo bay. Thanks to some fancy engineering, the Fit was the one subcompact that allowed you to haul four adults and their luggage at the same time -- and in relative comfort. Good news: Though the 2009 Fit is an all-new design, it hasn't changed much -- it's still the champ when it comes to hauling people and stuff all at once.
If I had one complaint about the old Fit, it was the geeky, goggle-eyed styling. The 2009 Fit has a brand new look; the windshield has been pulled down farther into the hood and the face is more aggressive. While beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I'm sure most people will agree with me that this is one handsome little car. That said, the new Fit ain't quite as little -- it's 4.2 inches longer and a half-inch wider than the old Fit. The new Fit uses Honda's ACE (Advanced Compatibility Engineering) body structure, which means it's better equipped to protect drivers in crashes with bigger vehicles -- and in the case of the Fit, that's pretty much everything else on the road.