hi I'm Kelsey mays for cars.com we're here at our full-size sedan challenge
where we are comparing the 2013 toyota avalon hyundai azera
chrysler 300 dodge charger and nissan maxima with the 2014 chevy impala and
ford taurus these days
full-size sedans don't seem to get as much love as their smaller siblings in
fact shoppers but about as many toyota camry and hyundai sonata sedans as they
did this entire class of full-size non luxury cars combined but that doesn't
mean there aren't plenty of premium features to be had in a class that
includes well-known name plates like the Impala and the avalon and you don't have
to pony up lexus or BMW money to get them will cover the features to look for
in this class and at the end of it you might decide that a non-luxury full-size
sedan is actually a smart alternative to conventional smaller luxury cars
so why are we starting in the back seat well that's because this is where your
passengers will appreciate the most you've spent your 35 or 40 grand on a
car like a toyota avalon instead of say a mercedes c class or an audi a4 most
full-size sedans are very generous back seats with a lot of leg room here and
tall enough cabins you can sit upright without running out of head room now
make sure you check for the floor hump here because a lot of these cars have
all wheel drive availability or rear wheel drive in certain cases that could
mean that the center passenger here gets the shaft the drive shaft that is
typical amenities and back include things like rear reading lights center
air events for the rear passengers you get up - Upper trims you get things like
heated rear seats or rear sunshade that darkens the cabin
these are features that are often available in very high level mid-sized
family cars but much more available among full-size sedans heated front
seats are pretty normal these days among a lot of cars but a lot of full-size
cars go the extra mile with additional options things like cooled front seats
of power tilt and telescoping steering column a panoramic moonroof these
features are often available among full-size cars you get into the base
trim levels of a lot of full-size cars unless they're really kind of at the
lower end of the segment you're going to get standard
features like power front seats dual-zone climate control so even if you
get a modestly equipped version of a full-size car you'll have some of those
amenities quality to takes a nice step up from a lot of mid-sized sedans of
things like fabric down the a-pillars more soft touch areas more padding where
your arms your elbows and those are kind of some luxury accused premium cues that
don't necessarily always make it into midsize cars generally do in two
full-size cars
the difference here again vs comparable small luxury cars is space there's a lot
of it there's a lot more legroom knee room bedroom there's also a lot more
space in areas like the center console the door pockets
the glove compartment areas here you can throw a lot more stuff than it typically
in a compact luxury sports sedan the space advantages carry over to trunk
size as well
the four best selling full-size sedans average about 18 cubic feet of trunk
space that's about two cubic feet more than the four best selling mid-sized
family cars some cars like the ford taurus have as much as 20 cubic feet of
trunk space that could fit more golf clubs and you can shake a stick at
big stick most full-size cars have v6 power although some like the tourist
offer and available turbo force own or another's like the charger in the 300
have available v8's expect ride quality you'd be more premium than in a lot of
midsize cars and these full-sized cars generally don't recommend or require
premium feel like a lot of luxury cars do a lot of them handle surprisingly
well but as a whole this segment faces a lot of head winds from the perception
that
full-size cars or what grandfathers and grandmothers to drive to the fact that a
lot of midsize cars are getting pretty big and pretty well-equipped these days
still if luxury fits your needs and you want a lot of premium features in space
but don't want to have to pony up the big bucks for a midsize or full size
luxury car non-luxury full-size segment might fit the bill
yeah