Midsizers of the 90's!

[BimmerM3]

1st choice: Maxima
2nd choice: Passat
3rd choice: 98-02 Accord

[Rupert]

Hmm, I guess the Passat.

[Rupert]

The Legacy is a lovely car, but it really is a compact. I'm not sure what I'm going to vote for.

No, it's not.

[the Teuton]

No, it's not.

You're wrong. It was an EPA compact car.

I have one at home. It's really not all that much bigger than my old Impreza.

[Rupert]

'97 Accord: 184-188" long, 70" wide, 107" wheelbase, 2850 lbs
'97 Legacy: 180-184" long, 67.5" wide, 103.5" wheelbase, 2880-3250 lbs
'97 Impreza: 172" long, 67" wide, 99" wheelbase, 2690 lbs

Legacy is 4" shorter than Accord, 8" longer than Impreza. Legacy is 2.5" skinnier than Accord, 0.5" wider than Impreza. Legacy has a wheelbase 3.5" shorter than Accord, 4.5" longer than Impreza. Not to mention that it was marketed as a mid-size, which is pretty much the only definition, anyway.

[sportyaccordy]

Man this thread is depressing. I don't want any of them, but if I was forced to chose, either the late Accord, the Maxima, or a Grand Prix GTP coupe.

I had a friend with a GTP sedan and it had nothing but problems. A real piece of junk. The Accords are solid in every way but pure excitement & that awful dash design.

[Raza]

I've already chosen one of these cars over all the others.  I'm sure my vote comes as no surprise.

[Hachee]

I guess you're being loose with "1997" because some of those 1998 models weren't available until the end of the year.  I only bring this up because it makes some of the choices much easier - the 1998 Passat, no question.  That was one of the best VW's ever, so much better than the current model (IMO).  Totally hit the sweet spot in the market, and the sales reflected it.  It still didn't come close to the Camry and Accord, but its sales were far higher than ever before.  I still think this car looks great, and it was rock solid and drove very well in both 1.8T and V6 form.

If this wasn't a choice, I'd probably go for the previous Passat.  It looked farty, but it had that tight build and drive.  I should have gotten this instead of the 1996 Accord that I had, which was dull as can be.  Inexpensive, reliable, but totally boring. 

The 92-96 Camry was much better than the 1997-2002.  Still not a young person's car, but it was (as others have said here) a pretty good looking car, and it was very solidly built.  My parents had a V6, and as Buicky as it was, it was smooth, quick, quiet and felt like a much more expensive car.   Its successor was lame in comparison.

[Raza]

I guess you're being loose with "1997" because some of those 1998 models weren't available until the end of the year.  I only bring this up because it makes some of the choices much easier - the 1998 Passat, no question.  That was one of the best VW's ever, so much better than the current model (IMO).  Totally hit the sweet spot in the market, and the sales reflected it.  It still didn't come close to the Camry and Accord, but its sales were far higher than ever before.  I still think this car looks great, and it was rock solid and drove very well in both 1.8T and V6 form.

[3.0L V6]

My choice was the Maxima, simply because it has the excellent 3.0L DOHC V6 and a 5-spd manual transmission. The runner up would be the Accord with a stick, even though it would have only been a 4-cylinder model. The Mazda 626 would have been my third choice (V6+5spd).

If you'd included a Buick Regal GS Supercharged, that might have been the only automatic only car I would have considered, since you can make a pretty good sleeper out of it.

[Cookie Monster]

I had a friend with a GTP sedan and it had nothing but problems. A real piece of junk. The Accords are solid in every way but pure excitement & that awful dash design.

What's wrong with the Accord's dash?

[Tave]

I had a friend with a GTP sedan and it had nothing but problems. A real piece of junk. The Accords are solid in every way but pure excitement & that awful dash design.

My friend Eli had a GTP coupe (his little bro still has it), and it was nothing but pure sweetness.

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

My mom had a '94 mazda 626 SE! I loved it. It gets my vote.

[sportyaccordy]

What's wrong with the Accord's dash?

The 94-97s were alright. The 98-02s were downright ugly. Just the shape of the dash, the Fisher Price gauge cluster & HVAC controls... I want one, but I would never get over the interior.

The Passat is pretty boss as well. But the exterior doesn't look good to me in pictures. I have seen a few modified that look nice in person though. But I would rather an A4.

[Onslaught]

My mom had a '94 mazda 626 SE! I loved it. It gets my vote.

That 626 was nice looking and was fun to drive for a car like that. The one that replaced it was not.

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

That 626 was nice looking and was fun to drive for a car like that. The one that replaced it was not.

+1 The replacement was downrite ugly!

[omicron]

I'd have a '98 Passat or Mazda Millenia/Eunos 800, but could also be tempted into a Legacy/Liberty RX. The B5 Passat is, quite simply, a really good car - no need to spend more on an equivalent Audi A4.

[Pommes-T]

My parents had both Passats listed here back in the days and I absolutely loved both of them.

Our first one was the B3 though (the not yet facelifted B4...), which was built from 88 until 93. That was a totally great car. It had lots of interior space, was pretty fast although my dad only had the 1,8 and never caused any trouble. My dad bought it new in 91 and drove it for nearly 300.000km. It was still running well, but we had a little accident in Italy and so we sold it.
The B4 which is listed here never was one of my favourite cars. I just don't think it was good looking and by then the construction was already getting old.
So I voted the Passat B5 which is still the best looking Passat ever made IMO. For the first time even as a sedan.

[Hachee]

Not to belabor the Passat love, but I love the B5 (is the facelifted version from around 2002 to 2005 also a B5?).  A neighbor has a facelifted version, so I see it every day in his drive.  I really think it's almost perfectly designed, and almost iconic.  To my eyes, it looks like a VW, much as a Beetle does, but is of course, totally modern.  I prefer the first, purer version from 1998, but the facelifted version looks almost as good, but more like a luxury car.  I can't believe how bad its successor compares.