2013 HYUNDAI SONATA

DRIVEN AN AVERAGE OF ONLY 15,300 MILES PER YEAR! Far below the national average!

Despite the newer midsize sedan rivals that have hit the market, the 2013 Hyundai Sonata remains a top pick in a very competitive set.

It seems like only yesterday that the Hyundai Sonata set the midsize family sedan market ablaze with sharp styling, class-leading comfort, generous feature offerings and overall value. Now, just two years on, the pressure is mounting from newly redesigned competitors made by Chevrolet, Ford, Honda, Nissan and Toyota.

To its credit, the 2013 Hyundai Sonata remains an excellent choice. With a long list of standard features -- some of which are options on other sedans -- the Sonata provides a lot of bang for the buck. Add to this the availability of two strong engine choices (along with a Sonata hybrid model that is covered in a separate review), admirable fuel economy, top safety scores and a lengthy warranty and it becomes clear why the Sonata is far from becoming yesterday's news.

Still, recent redesigns to the 2013 Ford Fusion and 2013 Honda Accord mean that the Sonata now has some company at the top. We would suggest that potential buyers take a look at all three of these midsize sedans, as the advantages among them are slight. By the same token we'd recommend the Kia Optima, which shares much of the Hyundai's underpinnings wrapped in an evocative exterior. Though not quite as impressive as these others, the Toyota Camry also earns our recommendation, buoyed by its reputation for bulletproof reliability.

The good news is that among these choices, there's really no loser in the bunch. The 2013 Hyundai Sonata may not enjoy the sizable lead it recently had, but the standard it set is still very much a bright spot in what used to be a bland and uninspiring class of cars.