As popular as SUVs have become of late, the heart of the automobile market still belongs to the good old fashioned family sedan. Sure, sedans have changed a lot over time, and in the next few years they are going to change and morph even more. But likely is that they won't be replaced any time real soon by the ubiquitous sport-utility, the dowdy minivan or even the funny-looking "crossovers" that seem to be popping up in showrooms everywhere. Nope, the good ole sedan is here to stay. And there are many a carmaker ready to fight for your sedan dollars when you are ready to make that investment.

Now, the nice thing about competition is that there are now so many choices, all with their own flavor. These include the spacious 6-seaters from Chevy, Ford and Dodge, the old-faithfuls from Toyota and Honda, the value-priced Mitsubishi Galant, the upscale Volkswagen Passat and the performance-oriented sedans from Mazda, Pontiac and Nissan.

And while yes, we know there are more (no hate mail, please, for not including what you may already have in your garage, we only had room for so many….

So go ahead and peruse this selection to get our take on the best mid-size family sedans of 2003.