1.) Accord - Fugly exterior but overall, it's a great car and the interior design still looks fresh after all these years.
2.) Altima - Not sure about reliability from new factory. But it looks to be a winner.
3.) Camry - After all the armchair Schumacher's are done pushing the limits of handling on interstate on-ramps, they'll realise that the Camry drives just fine for most people's driving purposes. Everything else is just uninformed internet forum "blah blah".
4.) Mazda 6 - I'm a huge fan of the Mazda 3. I'd love to get the MazdaSpeed 6 but the regular 6 is a pretty nice car as well.
5.) Aura - I haven't driven one, but it looks spectacular on the outside. The interior looks somewhat cheap (even with Moroccan leather) but I think it's a great car that offers a lot of features at a great price-point.
6.) Legacy - Nice sporty family car. Subaru safety is unmatched.
I like the Passat a great deal but the rest of the cars are take it or leave it. They're neither class leaders, nor are they sweeping the bottom. But personally, I wouldn't really pay $$ to buy one. For my money, I want the most car per dollar spent.
Quick notes - Sonata offers great value for the money and the new Hyundai cars are very high quality. But I still wouldn't get one thanks to terrible resale value.
The Fusion and Imapala are not bad cars. I've driven both and they're not too bad. But like I mentioned earlier, there's nothing there that makes me want to buy one over the top 6. The Ford fusion drives really well but I strongly dislike the interior. The design is fine but the materials, plastics, corporate radio etc. just remind me of Ford cheapness. Galant looks good on paper but no one's buying one and I'm guessing there's a reason, so I'm staying away. I wouldn't mind the G6 but I prefer some of the other cars. Malibu is too ugly for me to even consider. Lucerne is a great car but it's out of my price range for this segment.
What would I buy personally? Accord, Camry, Altima or Aura.