This diverse segment offers the widest price range. It covers everything from the $33,000 Saab 9-5 to the $128,000 Mercedes-Benz SL500. Obviously our Best Buys are somewhere in between. We think that the Acura RL is a steal at $42,000 fully equipped. Though it is a front-drive V6 in a field of V8 rear-drive models, it has a great ride, plenty of power, and is quite luxurious. In the same vein, the more-expensive Lexus LS 400 continues to impress, excelling in every way except for handling.
If you are looking for something a bit more sporting we recommend the BMW 5-Series, Jaguar S-Type, or Lexus GS 300/400. If your taste ranges more toward the luxury end, then take a look at the new Cadillac DeVille or Mercedes-Benz CLK.

Industry snoops can't seem to ferret out any near-term news about Volvo's flagship sedan, which is ending only its second model year anyway, but we expect minimal change for 2001. Saleswise, the S80 had a spectacular debut in calendar 1999, oupolling the predecessor 90-Series by almost 6 to 1, though year-to-year sales were flat in early 2000.
With wagons accounting for the lion's share of Volvo's business, rumors persist that the S80 will sire a wagon, which would be badged V90 in the company's latest nomenclature. Still, we're inclined to discount such talk. The 2001 V70 was developed as an "S80 wagon" until Volvo realized it might end up too expensive for the intended market, and we doubt anything much has changed since that would cause Volvo to reconsider.
Much more likely is the "crossover" vehicle being whispered for calendar 2002. This will reportedly be more of an SUV in style and character than the latest all-wheel-drive V70 XC, though the two models would undoubtedly share many under-skin components. The real question is whether the crossover would be substantially larger and/or more powerful than the XC, and nobody outside Volvo can answer that right now. However, the S80 platform apparently allows quite a bit of size variation, so the crossover could be bulked up from the sedan much like the V70 was slimmed down. We'll just have to wait and see.