New York (MONEY Magazine) - Automakers have been so busy minting money from ever-pricier SUVs that many have taken the sedan buyer for granted. The imagination -- even sheer chutzpah -- that's come to characterize truck design has been lacking in cars, especially the trusty family four-door. Designers got hung up on chasing the sedan-market rulers, the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry.

Big mistake. Competitors are first to praise the Accord and Camry for their value, reliability and refinement, but they're also first to criticize them as four-wheeled appliances. To hear Nissan, Mazda and Volkswagen tell it, the family car segment has grown stagnant and cookie-cutter bland.

Now instead of duplicating the Honda and Toyota recipe, rivals are spicing the pot -- and in the process, rediscovering their strengths. They're hustling new sedans with racy language rarely heard around the family table: Speed. Character. Sex appeal. And as long as they don't forget the traditional virtues of quality and dependability, this trend toward extroverted, fun-to-drive family cars is a great thing.

First to challenge the Accord/Camry duo was Volkswagen's bodacious Passat, with its decidedly European character and feel. Next up was the redesigned 2002 Nissan Altima, which grew six inches, added horsepower and wrapped itself in a stylish new skin.

Honda and Toyota have heard the footsteps. The redesigned 2003 Honda Accord bumped its V-6 engine's horsepower to 240, matching the Altima. Toyota chose words like "passion" and "sensuality" to describe its all-new 2002 Camry. But take all of this with a grain of salt. The latest Accord and Camry are reliably excellent, but few will swoon over their styling or spirit.

For American manufacturers, ready-to-rock sedans like those featured here -- the Mazda6, Nissan Altima and Infiniti G35 -- are a painful reminder of the growing irrelevance of models like the Ford Taurus and Pontiac Bonneville. Detroit has its own new-breed sedans in the works, including the Ford 500 (due in late 2004) and a redesigned 2004 Chevrolet Malibu. But they'd better hurry, or they'll miss their big chance to field family cars that most consumers consider worth a look.

If your average family car is a faithful watchdog, the Mazda6 is a playful pup. It's the most significant new sedan of the 2003 model year.

Mazda6 (Photo: Mazda)

A crouching-tiger stance and sinewy proportions rescue the 6 from the sea of sedan look-alikes. The cabin is refreshingly simple and driver-centric, with big gauges that glow crimson at night and a leather-wrapped steering wheel. Most impressive is the car's fluid handling and quicksilver feel. Mazda worked to mimic the handling, not of family-car competitors, but of top German sports sedans. A refined suspension joins with a space-saving rear design that helped carve out a 15.2-cubic-foot trunk, larger than the Accord's and the Passat's.

The base Mazda6 i gets a 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine with 160 horsepower, one of a new family of Mazda-designed four-bangers that will power several cars from Ford (which owns a piece of Mazda). The 3.0-liter V-6 of the Mazda6 s delivers 220 horsepower and a notably growly engine and exhaust note, sung through a pair of stainless-steel pipes. Both cars feature a manual sport-shift mode. And both run on regular gas; the four-cylinder i gets 29 mpg on the highway and the V-6, 27 mpg. The base price: $18,530 for the Mazda6 i, or $21,100 for the six-cylinder.

An $860 sport package ups the visual and performance ante with aggressive bodywork and a rear spoiler, 17-inch wheels, electroluminescent gauges and foglamps. Practical wagon and five-door hatchback versions arrive beginning in January 2004.

The Altima, redesigned last year, marked Nissan's return to form, grabbing the 2002 North American Car of the Year award and kicking off a volley of cars and trucks from the Japanese automaker. It's two inches longer than the Accord and Camry, and a virtual dead ringer for interior and trunk space. And at $18,499 for the popular 2.5 S model, or $22,649 for the V-6 powered 3.5 SE, the Altima won't have you raiding the tuition fund.

Nissan Altima (Photo: Nissan)

A pair of thoroughbred engines -- a 175-horsepower, 2.5-liter four-cylinder and a 245-horsepower, 3.5-liter V-6 -- let the Altima zip past just about any sedan near its price. V-6 models can reach a sports car-like 142 mph, with a sophisticated suspension and front-drive chassis that strike a good balance between sedan comfort and sprightly handling. Downside of all that muscle: Fuel economy trails the Accord's. Four-cylinder models get 29 mpg on the highway vs. the Accord's 33; V-6 versions manage 26 mpg vs. the Accord V-6's 30.

Purists might howl at lumping the G35 in with Ward-and-June sedans. Yes, the G35, which debuted earlier this year, is a legitimately wonderful entry-level luxury sports sedan, a worthy competitor to $40,000 machines like the BMW 330i and Mercedes C320.

Infiniti G35 (Photo: Infiniti)

But stay with me here: Unlike most shrunken sports sedans, the G35 is a good fit for the family -- and for its budget. With 98 cubic feet inside, the G35 is as roomy as a Passat, right in line with the Camry and Accord. The 14.5-cubic-foot trunk is up for any family vacation.

Yet the G35's posh look says that your family is, well, a bit spoiled. So does the silky 3.5-liter, 260 horsepower V-6, the strongest engine in the entry-level luxury class -- though at 24 mpg on the highway, it's on the thirsty side. Console yourself with a sophisticated rear-wheel-drive structure, shared with the acclaimed new Nissan 350Z sports car, that lifts the G35 to near-BMW levels of handling delight. So-so cabin materials are the only real misstep.

The majority of G35s at dealerships will be the leather-clad model that starts at $29,650 (the starter model costs $27,100) and includes goodies like 17-inch wheels, power driver's seat and steering-wheel audio controls. Yes, that's more than an Accord EX V6 with leather upholstery ($25,800) or a top-level Camry XLE ($25,890), but it's less than a Passat GLX ($29,825). A very well-dressed G35 can be had for $33,000 to $34,000. Park it next to your neighbor's same old sedan, and you'll consider that money well spent.

Lawrence Ulrich is the auto critic for the Detroit Free Press.