Best Midsize Sedans for Used Buyers

Midsize saloons are the most rational purchase in the used market and the least fashionable, which is precisely why they represent good value. Buyers have moved to crossovers, demand has softened, and a segment that was engineered to an extremely high standard for decades is now available at prices that do not reflect how good the cars are.

The difficulty is choosing between them, because the marketing tells you nothing useful. Every one of these cars is described as refined, safe, efficient and well-equipped. So this comparison uses only records: NHTSA’s crash test results, NHTSA’s recall campaign counts, NHTSA’s owner complaint files, and EPA fuel-economy testing. We pulled all four for ten 2018 midsize saloons. Where a figure is missing, we say so rather than filling the gap.

Fuel economy: a $300 annual spread on the best engines

The EPA tests every model and publishes an estimated annual fuel cost at 15,000 miles a year. Taking the best available non-hybrid figure for each car so the comparison stays like-for-like:

The Camry’s 34 combined MPG and $1,800 estimated annual cost lead the group, and its 41 MPG highway figure is the highest number in the entire comparison. The Legacy’s 29 combined is the joint lowest here, but it is also the only all-wheel-drive car in the group — a genuinely different proposition, and a reasonable place to spend the extra $300 a year if you live somewhere that gets weather.

Two cautions on this table. First, these are the best figures each car offers. Choose a bigger engine and the picture changes considerably: the Camry with the 3.5-litre V6 drops to 26 combined and $2,350 a year, and the Passat with the 3.6-litre V6 drops to 22 combined and $2,800 — a thousand dollars a year worse than the Camry four-cylinder. On a used car you are buying whatever engine is in front of you, so check which one it is. Second, the Fusion returned no EPA data in our pull; we are not going to substitute a figure from memory.

The engine you pick costs more than the badge you pick

The spread between these cars is narrow. The spread inside them is not. Most of these models were sold with two or three engines, and choosing the wrong one costs more every year than choosing the wrong nameplate.

The Camry is the clearest case. The 2.5-litre four returns 29 city and 41 highway for 34 combined, at an EPA-estimated $1,800 a year and 264 grams of CO₂ per mile. The 3.5-litre V6 in the same car returns 22 and 33 for 26 combined, at $2,350 a year and 338 grams. Same body, same crash rating, same recall list — and a fuel bill that is $550 further apart than the gap between the best and worst cars in this comparison.

The Accord splits three ways. The 1.5-litre turbo with the continuously variable transmission is the efficient one: 30 city, 38 highway, 33 combined, $1,850 a year. The 2.0-litre turbo with the ten-speed automatic drops to 23 and 34 for 27 combined and $2,300. The six-speed manual behind the same 2.0 turbo is thirstier still at 26 combined and $2,350.

The Malibu has a fuel-grade trap in it

The 2018 Malibu is the one to read carefully. Its 1.5-litre turbo with the six-speed automatic is rated 27 city and 36 highway for 30 combined, $2,050 a year, on regular. The 2.0-litre turbo with the nine-speed is rated 22 and 32 for 26 combined — and EPA lists it on premium, which is why its annual figure jumps to $2,900 rather than the roughly $2,350 the MPG alone would suggest. That is the single widest within-model gap in this group, and nothing on the outside of the car tells you which one you are looking at.

The Passat repeats the pattern more mildly: the 2.0-litre turbo four is 29 combined at $2,100, the 3.6-litre VR6 is 22 combined at $2,800. The Legacy does the same, 29 combined and $2,100 for the 2.5-litre flat-four against 23 combined and $2,650 for the 3.6-litre six. In every case the smaller engine is the cheaper car to run by a margin that dwarfs the difference between manufacturers.

Crash ratings: the class has converged

NHTSA’s New Car Assessment Program awards up to five stars overall, with separate frontal, side and rollover scores. Every one of these ten cars earned five stars overall.

Four cars — Camry, Accord, Legacy and Optima — earned five stars in every category including rollover. The Fusion and the Passat each scored four stars frontal while still earning five overall.

The honest conclusion is that crash ratings no longer separate this class. By 2018 the structural engineering, airbag coverage and restraint systems in mainstream midsize saloons had converged to the point where the federal test does not discriminate between them. That is a genuine achievement and it is also a reason to weight your decision toward the other three datasets. You can look up any specific configuration at NHTSA’s ratings site — and check that the configuration you are buying is the one that was tested, since a rating for a front-wheel-drive car does not automatically transfer to an all-wheel-drive version.

Owner complaints: read the shape, not the size

This is where the cars diverge sharply, and where the data needs the most careful handling.

Reading it that way, several things stand out.

The Sonata’s fire figure. Thirteen of its 368 complaints involved fire, and one involved a death. That is the highest fire proportion in the group, and the file is dominated by the engine at 208 reports. Those two facts together are worth researching specifically before buying a 2018 Sonata, including checking the individual complaint narratives.

The Optima’s fire figure. Ten of 230 complaints involved fire, with 129 against the engine. A similar pattern to its corporate sibling, which is not a coincidence given shared engineering.

The Camry’s crash and injury counts. Forty-six complaints involved a crash and 45 involved injuries, the highest absolute figures here — but against 731 complaints on a car that sold in very large volume, and with powertrain rather than any safety system as its largest category.

The Accord’s engine cluster. Five hundred and twenty-seven of its 1,838 complaints name the engine, with forward collision avoidance second at 330 and fuel and propulsion third at 297. A well-regarded car with a large and specific complaint concentration.

The Mazda6 and Passat. Small files, low severity. The Mazda6 records one crash, one fire and one injury across 56 complaints; the Passat records five crashes, no fires and two injuries across 45. Both sold modestly, so the sample is small, but nothing in either file suggests a systemic problem.

You can read the underlying narratives yourself — every complaint in the NHTSA complaints database is public, and reading twenty narratives about a specific model tells you more than any summary count.

Recall campaigns, and what they are actually telling you

The one entry here that changes a buying decision is the Passat’s. Of its four campaigns, one carried a “Park It” classification — NHTSA’s designation for a defect serious enough that owners are told not to drive the vehicle until the remedy has been performed. It is the only such campaign among all ten cars. If you are looking at a 2018 Passat, confirming that campaign has been closed on that specific VIN is not optional.

Beyond that, campaign counts here mostly reflect how readily each manufacturer files. Toyota’s eight campaigns on the Camry include four separate fuel system actions; Hyundai’s single campaign on the Sonata covers a boot lid latch. It would be a mistake to read that as the Sonata being eight times sounder, particularly given what its complaint file contains. A recall is a manufacturer acknowledging a fault and paying to fix it, which is a functioning system doing its job.

Putting the four datasets together

No single car wins all four categories, which is why the sensible way to use this is to work out which dataset carries most weight for you.

If running cost is the priority: Camry, then Accord

The Camry’s 34 combined MPG and $1,800 estimated annual cost lead the group, with five stars in every crash category. Its complaint file is large but volume-driven and led by powertrain rather than anything safety-critical. The Accord is a close second on fuel at 33 combined and $1,850, with the same perfect crash card, but carries the largest complaint file here with a heavy engine concentration.

If weather is the priority: Legacy

The only all-wheel-drive car in the group, five stars across all four crash categories, and one of the smaller complaint files here at 116 reports across 23 categories, led by electrical system at 40. It pays for the drivetrain at the pump — 29 combined, $2,100 a year — which is a fair price for the capability.

If you want the quietest record: Mazda6 or Passat

Both have small, low-severity complaint files and only two and four recall campaigns respectively. Both trade some fuel economy for it at 29 combined MPG and $2,100 a year. The caveat on the Passat is that “Park It” campaign, which must be confirmed closed on the specific car.

If the price is very low: understand why

The Sonata and Optima are typically the cheapest cars in this group on the used market, and their complaint files explain part of the reason. Thirteen fire complaints and a death on the Sonata, ten fire complaints on the Optima, and engine as the dominant category on both. A cheap example of either can still be a sound purchase — but only after you have read the complaint narratives for that model year and confirmed the specific car’s recall and service position.

What to check on any of them, individually

Everything above is about model years. What you actually buy is one car, and the individual car’s record overrides the model’s average in both directions. A well-kept Sonata with full records is a better purchase than a neglected Camry.

• Verify the VIN in three places — windscreen base, driver’s door jamb, and the title document. All three must match before you go further.
• Decode it free with NHTSA to confirm year, engine, body and drive type against the advert. Sellers get this wrong more often than you would think, and a mismatch is worth understanding.
• Run open recalls on that VIN. Free, two minutes, and it covers the last 15 calendar years.
• Read the title and any brands on it. Salvage, flood and lemon brands follow a car across state lines and change what it is worth permanently.
• Pull a full history report for ownership count, reported odometer readings, accident records and registration geography. A VIN check before the viewing means you arrive knowing what questions to ask rather than discovering the answers afterwards.
• Pay for an independent inspection. The one step no database replaces, and the one that finds deferred maintenance.

The full sequence, in the order a careful buyer should run it, is in our guide to checking a used car’s history before buying. What the car will cost you once you own it is a separate question, and the answer is largely determined by which services were skipped before you got it — covered in our used car maintenance guide.

Frequently asked questions

Which 2018 midsize sedan is the most fuel efficient?

The Toyota Camry with the 2.5-litre four-cylinder, at 34 MPG combined — 29 city and 41 highway — with an EPA-estimated annual fuel cost of $1,800 at 15,000 miles a year. The Honda Accord with the 1.5-litre turbo and CVT is next at 33 combined and $1,850.

Are these cars actually safe by current standards?

All ten earned five stars overall from NHTSA, and four of them — Camry, Accord, Legacy and Optima — earned five stars in every individual category including rollover. Federal crash ratings no longer separate this class. Where they still differ is in driver assistance equipment, which varies by trim rather than by model, so check what the specific car has.

Does a high complaint count mean a car is unreliable?

Not on its own. Complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold and how much publicity a problem received, as much as it tracks actual failure rates. The Accord’s 1,838 complaints and the Passat’s 45 largely reflect the difference in how many were on the road. What is comparable is the internal shape of each file: which system dominates it, and how many reports involve a crash, a fire, an injury or a death.

Which of these has the most concerning record?

On the fire figures, the Hyundai Sonata: 13 of its 368 complaints involved fire and one involved a death, with 208 reports naming the engine. The Kia Optima shows a similar pattern with 10 fire complaints out of 230 and 129 against the engine. Neither is a reason to rule the cars out automatically, but both warrant reading the individual complaint narratives before buying.

Should I worry about a car with eight recalls?

Not by itself. A recall is a manufacturer identifying a fault and paying to fix it, and the remedy is free forever at any franchised dealer. What matters is whether the campaigns on your specific VIN have been completed. The one entry in this group that genuinely changes a decision is the 2018 Passat’s “Park It” campaign, which NHTSA classifies as serious enough that owners were told not to drive the vehicle until it was remedied.

Is an all-wheel-drive sedan worth the fuel penalty?

In a climate with real winters, often yes. The Subaru Legacy is the only all-wheel-drive car in this comparison, and it costs about $300 a year more to fuel than the Camry — 29 combined MPG against 34. Set against a set of winter tyres and the confidence of driving an unploughed road, that is not a large premium. In a mild climate it is money spent on capability you will not use.

Why is there no fuel economy data for the 2018 Ford Fusion here?

Our EPA data pull did not return figures for it. Rather than substitute a number from another source or from memory, we have left the row blank and said so. Every other figure on this page came out of NHTSA or EPA records on the date noted at the foot of the article, and you can reproduce any of them yourself.