MIDSIZE CARS SOLD

under mass-market brands haven't gotten much respect during the past few years, but now the category is getting a shot of adrenaline. Toyota is launching a substantially redesigned edition of its bestselling Camry. Ford has a stylish new car called the Fusion. Volkswagen has a new generation of its Passat sedan. Korean automaker Hyundai is gunning for a big increase in sales for its new Sonata sedan.

I test-drove the new Camry, the new Ford Fusion, the reengineered Passat and the new Sonata. For comparison's sake, I also drove the more modestly made-over 2006 Honda Accord. The refinement and comfort available in this class have reached a level that compares with entry-level luxury cars. It's now just about impossible to find a bad car in this class which I define as midsize sedans priced between $20,000 and $30,000 (with an asterisk for that VW). But distinctions among these cars still exist.

Ford Fusion V-6 SEL
I tested a Fusion with a V-6 and a six-speed automatic transmission. With leather seats, an "audiophile" sound system and the optional side-curtain airbags, antilock brakes and traction control, the car had a sticker price of $25,650 (all prices include destination charge). The Fusion is a good-looking car on the outside. But the car's interior suffered from an excess of cheap-looking black plastic and some fit-and-finish problems.

The engine is rated at only 21 mpg city, 29 highway. Its performance doesn't compensate. Hitting the gas for a passing maneuver summons a thrashing roar and only a weak feeling of acceleration.

Ford Fusion V-6 SEL

Base Price: $22,360 (includes destination charge)

Engine: 3-liter V-6, 221 hp

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Comment: Stylish on the outside, but interior and engine disappoint.

Volkswagen Passat 3.6L
VW shares a reverence for BMW with Toyota, but wears it more openly including on the price tag, where a well-equipped Passat can climb up above $30,000, into the territory occupied by the low end of the BMW line. "Value Editions" of the Passat, with a 200-hp, four-cylinder engine and six-speed manual, start at $23,565.

The Passat 3.6L that I tested came with a $3,050 package of options including leather seats and brushed-aluminum interior trim. This upgraded interior was stunning, jewel-like compared with the dull, black-plastic look so common in the class.On the road, the 280-hp V-6 and a taut suspension made the Passat a true driver's car.

That said, the car can annoy. The console is festooned with tiny buttons imagine fiddling with a BlackBerry at highway speed. The six-CD changer is in the trunk. Hello? Earth to Wolfsburg?

The two biggest problems with the Passat are VW's recent reputation for quality troubles and the price tag. Given how good the lower-priced cars in this segment are now, paying thousands extra for a Volkswagen doesn't seem to make sense.

Volkswagen Passat 3.6L

Base Price: $30,565 (includes destination charge)

Engine: 3.6-liter V-6, 280 hp

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Comment: Fun to drive, but the high price and VW quality issues take it down a notch.

Hyundai Sonata LX
The Fusion's biggest problem may be the new Sonata. Hyundai, like Ford, has a checkered past to live down when it comes to quality and refinement. But the Sonata attacks the challenge with a car that offers as standard equipment features, such as side-curtain airbags, that Ford sells as options, thus earning its position as runner-up. The Sonata's 235-hp V-6 doesn't outpower or outquiet the big Japanese names, but it performs adequately. For the LX model I tested, Hyundai throws in heated front seats, cruise control, 17-inch wheels, steering-wheel audio controls and a raft of other features, all for $23,495.

Hyundai Sonata LX

Base Price: $23,495 (includes destination charge)

Engine: 3.3-liter V-6, 235 hp

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Comment: Lots of value in standard features makes it the runner-up.

Toyota Camry
The Camry is respected for reliability and solidity: the epitome of the car as appliance.

Chafed by the Camry's image as a "plain vanilla" car, Toyota this time sought to give the Camry more personality, offering four trim levels, including an SE, or sport edition. The new Camry's exterior styling has a strong whiff of Bavaria.

Toyota engineers packed a few extra horses under the hood as well. The four-cylinder is rated at 158 hp, the new V-6 at 268 hp. And the SE can be had with a five-speed manual.

Later this year Toyota will offer a hybrid Camry with a variant of the gasoline-electric power system offered in the Prius. Toyota estimates the hybrid will rate 43 mpg in the city, 37 on the highway. For hybrid owners, the difference in driving experience will barely be noticeable.

Inside, the new Camry is well-tailored, logical and uncluttered. On the road, it is capable and predictable no matter which power train you have. For now it has a big edge on its old rival, the Accord, in styling and comfort.

Still, for all the effort Toyota has put into making the new Camry "emotional," the car's signature characteristic is that it does its job so quietly and unobtrusively that you barely notice it as the miles flow by.

Toyota hadn't released pricing for the 2007 Camry as this went to press, but company officials say they don't expect base prices to rise much from last year's. A base Camry LE four-cylinder started as low as $20,125, with V-6 models starting at $23,360. In the end, the Camry still offers the best balance of performance, comfort and value.

Toyota Camry

Base Price: to be announced

Engines: 2.4-liter 4-cyl., 158 hp; 3.5-liter V-6, 268 hp; hybrid gas-electric, 192 hp

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Comment: Still rules the class. Best balance of value, performance and comfort.