Economy Car: Toyota Corolla   Midsize Sedan: Mazda6   Sport Sedan: Infiniti G35 « Luxury Car: BMW 5-Series   Sports Car: Chevrolet Corvette   Compact SUV: Jeep Liberty   Mid-size SUV: Toyota 4Runner   Large SUV: Land Rover Range Rover HSE   Minivan: Dodge Grand Caravan   Station Wagon: Audi A4 Avant   Pickup: Dodge Ram
Even with a crisply redesigned model on the 2003 horizon, the 5-Series remains sui generis among sedans. Where most luxury cars ask little of their drivers, the 5-Series has needs -- some passion, some involvement. The BMW repays those attentions, complimenting a light touch here, a firm hand there. Soon you're in cahoots, a boy (or girl) racer who just happens to drive a mature, classically understated German luxury sedan. My own 5-Series flings always feel heartbreakingly brief, whether a Sunday drive in the 540i or setting canyons ablaze in the exclusive 394-horsepower M5, a car that can make a Porsche sweat and still carry your pals and a trunkful of Callaways. Runner Up: Lexus LS 430 The antithesis of the sporting BMW, the LS 430 is still a magnificent luxury car. Sure, it's a bit of an isolation chamber. But if my senses get treated to this much lacquered wood and creamy leather, sign me up for the tank. There's no better vehicle for measuring out highway miles by the hundreds. Critics who suggest the Lexus has no soul miss the point. The Lexus has a soul all right, but it's that of a Wall Street banker: Buttoned-down, reliable, never ostentatious and mindful of the bottom line. Qualities other luxe machines would do well to emulate.