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Midsize Sedan Comparison | Honda Accord vs. Toyota Camry vs. Mazda6

The rumors of the midsize sedan's death have been greatly exaggerated. The 2018 Honda Accord and 2018 Toyota Camry together moved more than 262,000 units through May of this year, which is still a ton of cars. Then again, both are down year-over-year despite being completely, and quite impressively, redesigned for 2018. So yes, the midsize sedan's grip on family transportation is weakening. Ford certainly thinks so, yet this change in consumer preferences comes at a time when the current crop of sedans is sensational. They're bigger and more powerful, yet also more efficient. Safety scores are impeccable. They even look better than ever. So before running out to score one of the bajillion little SUVs flooding the market, why not ponder this trio of midsize sedan all-stars that might actually work better? Over the course of three consecutive weeks we tested the 2018 Camry XSE V6, 2018 Accord Touring 2.0T and the perennial critical-darling 2018 Mazda6 Signature. The latter was thoroughly overhauled and, perhaps as such, bucked the segment trend by actually selling more in June this year. Each was a range-topping trim level with all the bells and whistles, plus the most powerful engine available. Really, you couldn't find cars closer in power, price and feature content. View 57 Photos Performance and fuel economy Toyota bucked the turbocharged trend by sticking with naturally aspirated engines for the 2018 Camry, and when it comes to its 3.5-liter V6, it's sure hard to argue with that decision. For starters, it produces 301 horsepower. Let that sink in for a moment. A 301-hp Toyota Camry. That crushes the others, while its 267 pound-feet of torque is only 6 less than the Accord. This is a strong, smooth engine that only gets better when you realize it matches the 26-mpg combined fuel economy of the others. Honda, meanwhile, followed the masses by switching to a turbocharged four-cylinder for the Accord's engine upgrade (and its base engine, for that matter). Though its 252 hp is considerably down on the Camry and its 271 lb-ft is only a smidgen more, the Accord's torque arrives earlier in the rev range without feeling overtly turbocharged. It also has 143 fewer pounds to contend with. When wrung out, this new 2.0-liter belts out a beautiful, typically Honda song made possible by the smart 10-speed automatic (the base 1.5-liter is paired to a CVT that results in more drone than mechanical music) that thankfully doesn't draw much attention to itself.

Mazda keeping non-hybrid, non-electric Skyactiv strategy

Mazda still thinks that it can buck the trend of adding those fancy batteries and electric motors to its cars. At least for a little while longer. Hopefully. Speaking to Auto Express recently, Mazda's European boss, Jeff Guyton, said that he expects his company's cars to be able to get a lot more efficient without resorting to any of that fancy electrification stuff. "I think there's at least 20-30 percent better fuel economy by the end of the decade," he said. He said that he expected to get to Europe's low target of 95 grams of CO2 per kilometer, "without any significant deployment of electrical drive." This part is all in line with Mazda's long-term Skyactiv strategy, as laid out back in 2011 and first mentioned publicly in 2010. Remember, this is the company that once proudly proclaimed, "Not Electric. Not Hybrid. Not A Drag To Drive." As explained back in 2011, Mazda hopes to wait until other automakers have done all of the heavy lifting on developing plug-in and hybrid tech so that when Mazda enters the market, things will be cheaper. Of course, Mazda has been quietly testing all-electric vehicles and Guyton said that there may be an Mazda EV at some point. "We are interested in electric technology and it will be in the distant future when it will be quite important," he told AE. "But we think it will take some time to be commercially attractive without tax payer-funded incentives." How much of a delay? Well, there is a gas-electric Mazda 3 hybrid available in Japan that uses some powertrain parts from the Toyota Prius, and we all know that the Prius has been around for ages. Maybe in 2025, Mazda will come out with a Leaf-based Mazda 2. Related Video: Green Mazda Fuel Efficiency Electric Hybrid skyactiv mazda skyactiv

2019 Mazda3 sedan and hatchback get IIHS Top Safety Pick awards

The 2019 Mazda3 is all-new, and now we have crash test ratings from the IIHS for both the sedan and hatchback. A Top Safety Pick (not the TSP+) award was given to both variants of the compact car. Since the IIHS only rates the Mazda3 headlights as "Acceptable" and not "Good," it doesn't get the "Top Safety Pick+" rating. All the major crash categories like small overlap front, side and moderate overlap front are rated as Good. The IIHS also makes crash avoidance part of its battery of tests now to evaluate forward collision and pedestrian detection systems. Both versions of the Mazda3 offer these systems, but the IIHS points out that Mazda's "Smart Brake Support" is only standard on the hatchback. This makes the hatchback standard with a "superior-rated" crash prevention system, and only optional on the sedan. Both cars equipped with the system were able to avoid collisions at 12 mph and 25 mph in the IIHS tests. Even though the Mazda3 does come standard with LED headlight projectors, the IIHS still didn't think they were good enough for a Good rating. There is one video of the Mazda3 going through the side crash test if you'd like to watch the new sedan get hit. You can read our thoughts on the new Mazda3 here. We certainly like driving the redesigned Mazda, and it's good to know the car will perform well in a crash, too.