MotorTrend magazine recently put North America’s top family sedans through the ringer. Chevrolet’s recently introduced – and much heralded – Malibu took on the similarly new Honda Accord (a Good 12 member), the perennial best-selling Toyota Camry, and the vivacious Nissan Altima. Here is their story by the numbers.
0.3 – the amount of extra time required for a ’91 BMW M5 to reach 60mph over the startlingly fast Camry V6.
112.3 – wheelbase of the Chevrolet Malibu, longest in the test.
3684 – weight, in pounds, of the Malibu.
14.6 – pounds which each of the Malibu’s 252 horsepower are forced to carry, the worst ratio in the group.
5 – speeds in the automatic transmission of the Honda Accord, fewest in the test. (Nissan’s is continuously variable.)
62.2 – front track of the Accord, widest in test.
137 – feet required to stop the Accord from 60mph, 13ft more than the best-in-test Camry found necessary.
0.83 – lateral grip, measured in g’s, of the Altima, best in test.
0.86 – pounds of C02 emissions per mile of the Altima, lowest (cleanest) among the four competitors.
14 – cu
bic feet available for cargo in the Altima, fewest in the group.
1000 – cost, in USD, of the JBL premium sound system found in the Camry.
1,000,000 – approximate total combined annual U.S. sales of Camry, Accord, and Altima.
189.2 – total length of the Camry, stubbiest of the lot.
38.3 – rear seat legroom in the Toyota, most of any of the four combatants.
