Cars.comparison: Efficient Vacation Rides

Even though gas prices are high, families haven't stopped hitting the open road. There are all kinds of practical options for traveling families, so we've matched three four-cylinder models — the redesigned Hyundai Sonata family sedan, the new Volkswagen Tiguan small crossover and the Mazda5 small van — to see which makes the most sense for efficiency-minded shoppers.

 = Category winner

The Contenders
2009 Hyundai Sonata Limited	2009 Volkswagen Tiguan SE AWD	2008 Mazda5 Grand Touring
Zoom	Zoom	Zoom
Base MSRP
$23,970	$28,875	$22,515
Price as tested
$24,735	$33,165	$25,480
Rest-stop cred
Reserved, stately looks will let you enter and leave the pit stop without anyone taking notice. It might be mistaken for a Buick.	The tall Tiguan looks a little unusual from some angles, but its overall appearance is athletic and bound to grab more attention than the solemn-looking Sonata.	The Mazda5 is technically a minivan, but it's one like no other on U.S. roads. Small and aggressively styled, it possesses a sportiness that separates it from the other two.
Cruising comfort
A quiet cabin gives the Sonata an air of luxury, and the sedan rides comfortably on smooth pavement. Rougher surfaces make for a jittery experience and quite a bit of suspension noise.	Surprisingly firm suspension tuning makes the Tiguan buck over larger bumps in the road, even when carrying the whole clan. The ride can be jarring, which will likely be unacceptable to some shoppers.	The firmly tuned suspension is in line with the Mazda5's responsive handling. A fair amount of road noise penetrates the cabin when traveling at highway speeds, however, which could become tedious over long stretches of time.
Acceleration
Though it doesn't possess the low-end torque of the available V-6 engine, the Sonata's 175-horsepower four-cylinder offers more than adequate power, and it manages to hold its own when all the seats are filled.	The 200-hp, turbocharged four-cylinder is an eager engine, accelerating this SUV with ease. Even when it's fully loaded, the six-speed automatic keeps the Tiguan light on its feet. Just as important, there's no throttle lag, which has plagued other VWs.	With 153 hp under its hood, the Mazda5 has the lowest power rating of these three models. On the road, however, the 2.3-liter four-cylinder provides quick-enough acceleration, though it sounds buzzy at higher rpm.
Range, gas mileage* (city/highway, mpg)
443 miles, 22/32 A large, 17.7-gallon fuel tank and the best estimated gas mileage of this trio combine to give it the longest range.	336 miles, 18/24 Choosing the front-wheel-drive model with the six-speed manual transmission would boost the Tiguan's EPA estimates to 19/26 mpg and slightly increase its range to 353 miles.	366 miles, 21/27 Though the Mazda5's mileage is good for a minivan, it's still not as good as the frugal Sonata, and at 15.9 gallons its gas tank is the smallest of the three, limiting its range.
Boredom-avoiding features
Play Video A USB port for controlling an iPod through the Sonata's audio system is standard, giving you hours of music to pass the time on the highway. Like most sedans, though, a backseat entertainment system isn't offered.	Play Video The optional navigation system provides 20GB of music storage and a USB port for connecting an iPod. (You can even view a DVD movie on its 6.5-inch touch-screen when in Park.) There's also an optional moonroof that runs nearly the length of the ceiling, which might offer some entertainment value to kids and adults alike.	Play Video A basic auxiliary input jack is standard for connecting an MP3 player to the Mazda5's sound system, but the van offers surprisingly little in terms of entertainment features; unlike most minivans, a rear-seat DVD system isn't offered.
Driver comfort
The front bucket seats are softly cushioned and large enough to accommodate a variety of drivers. Heated leather seats are standard on Limited trims.	The Tiguan's front seats are supportive in all the right ways. Our test SE paired power reclining with the standard manual height adjustment, lumbar control and tilt/telescoping steering wheel for maximum adjustability. Even so, the seats don't fix the overfirm ride.	They're comfortable enough, but the front bucket seats are on the small side and may not fit larger drivers that well. Heated leather seats are standard on Grand Touring trims, but the seats only have one heat setting; they're either on or off.
Roominess
A large, 105.4-cubic-foot cabin provides plenty of room for adults to get comfortable in front or back; the rear seat is particularly spacious.	The Tiguan has 95.3 cubic feet of passenger volume and has a backseat that slides and reclines, offering lots of leg and foot room for a small SUV. The middle seat in back isn't that bad, either.	The Mazda5's 112.4 cubic feet of passenger space surpasses the others with help from its extra row of seats, but when you look at only the first two rows it offers less room than the Sonata, with 97.7 cubic feet of space. With its six-person seating capacity, the van bests the five-seat Sonata and Tiguan, but that third row has minimal legroom and is really only suitable for kids.
Luggage-swallowing capacity
The Sonata's large trunk measures 16.3 cubic feet, and it's also well-shaped, with minimal intrusions and a low bumper that makes for easy loading. A 60/40-split folding backseat is standard, but when it's down there's a high ledge between the trunk floor and the back of the seats.	The Tiguan has an advantage over the Sonata with its open cargo area, which measures 23.8 cubic feet. The backseat folds nearly flat with the cargo area to make 56.1 cubic feet of total cargo room.	There's 11.7 cubic feet of cargo room when all six seats are in use, but folding the third row flat — in order to make its configuration more similar to the others — provides 44.4 cubic feet of space. A low liftover height is a plus.
Safe travels
Standard safety features include antilock brakes, side-impact airbags for the front seats, side curtain airbags, an electronic stability system and active head restraints for the front seats.	Like the Sonata, the Tiguan has standard ABS, a stability system, front side-impact airbags and side curtain airbags, but it doesn't offer active head restraints, which can help prevent whiplash in a rear-end collision. Side-impact airbags for the outboard rear seats are optional.	While the Mazda5 includes antilock brakes, three-row side curtain airbags and front side-impact airbags, a stability system isn't offered.
Overall value
While the Mazda we tested has a lower starting price, you can't overlook the Sonata Limited's generous standard equipment list and, especially, its better fuel economy. For one or two holiday road trips a year, a sedan does the trick.	For what it is and does, the Tiguan is rather efficient, and it enters the market poised to take advantage of heightened interest in smaller, car-based SUVs. The premium quality may justify the price for some buyers, but there are more affordable alternatives in this size class.	Grand Touring versions of the Mazda5 include a decent level of equipment, like a six-CD changer, 17-inch alloy wheels and automatic air conditioning, but the Sonata has even more. If you're dead set on a small van, however, the Mazda5 is your only choice in the U.S.
Editors' choice
As the most comfortable, most efficient and most affordable contender, it's hard to go wrong with the Sonata as a practical road-trip car. A solid list of safety and comfort features, as well as a generous warranty, are icing on the cake.	The Tiguan is a good first effort for VW in the small SUV segment. However, we're a little too leery of VW's reliability history to give this model the thumbs up just yet.	We like the concept of the Mazda5, as it's quite efficient at carrying either people or cargo, but it's not markedly better than the others at doing both simultaneously. In the end, the 5 lacks the fuel economy, features and comfort of the Sonata, and that's just too much to overcome.

Next Step?

• 2009 Hyundai Sonata
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• 2009 Volkswagen Tiguan
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• 2008 Mazda Mazda5
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View a side-by-side comparison of these vehicles