Because of a drop of nearly 10% in fuel economy in this year’s Honda Accord over the previous one, it lost its title as a “Top Pick” for midpriced family sedans in the Consumer Reports Auto Issue this year. The new winner is the Nissan Altima 3.5 SE (V6), which was reviewed by the magazine nearly a year ago. Both the Altima and the previous Accord got 23 mpg, while the new, 2nd-place 2008 V6 Accord gets only 21 mpg.

Not that the Accord is a bad buy—other than fuel economy, the new Accord “easily outperformed all the other vehicles in this test group—and achieved an “Excellent” overall road test score.” (We don’t know if they’re including last year’s Altima test as part of the group.)

The Altima also came out on top in the budget-priced category:

The four-cylinder Altima also claimed the top spot in CR’s ranking of 15 Affordable Family sedans, with a much wider, six-point margin over the Accord [four-cylinder LX-P]. The Kia Optima EX and Toyota Camry LE are ranked third and fourth in that category.

“Nissan Altima Inches Past Honda Accord to Become Consumer Reports’ Top-Ranked, Midpriced…” [Reuters] (press release)
(Kitten approval team photo by abcrumley)

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