If you want to look for an area to use for leveling criticism at the Ford Fusion, the exterior styling isn’t going to be a target-rich environment for you. It has been around for a little while now though, and its success means there’s an awful lot of Fusions out there on the road. The interior is clean, modern and functional, but it’s perhaps not as thrilling as the interiors of its siblings the Focus and Fiesta, especially when it comes to the cockpit.

The Malibu has a familiar name but its impressive development may have gone under many buyers’ radar in recent times. The Chevy has made extensive use of high strength steel to deliver a car that’s now lighter, brighter and longer than it used to be. It’s sporty in a way that stops just short of full-blown sports coupe levels of restricted rear headroom, but it’s sleek and aerodynamic enough to still deliver more than a modicum of the wow-factor. As a midsize with one of the most spacious interiors in its class and as it’s a little less common than the Fusion, the Malibu just edges it here.

The Fusion can be comfortable, practical and of high quality, but it’s going to cost you a fair amount to get there if we’re honest. There’s nothing wrong with getting what you pay for, but there is if you can have it for less somewhere else. The interior trim is fairly basic on lower trim levels, so buyers will be tempted to spend more for better. There are no problems with practicality though, as levels of passenger and cargo capacity are decidedly generous here.

Despite a relatively short wheelbase, the Malibu makes good use of some clever interior packaging to bring about a feeling of genuine spaciousness, and rear-seat passengers can even enjoy as much as 38.1 inches of leg room. Features like active noise cancellation and sound deadening subdue any harsh vibrations from the road and drivetrain, and even the entry level L model has a good quality feel about it. The Ford would probably win this section if we were only considering the top trim levels, but the Malibu is the better all-rounder.

The Malibu has two engines that do a fine job of balancing power with fuel economy without having to go all the way to the hybrid. Both are four-cylinder units though, so anyone wanting a more powerful V-6 will not find what they’re looking for here in the Chevy. The two available engines are both turbocharged and the 2.0-liter develops 250 horsepower, which is enough for most applications, but it could leave you wishing for a little more.

Engines are a real strong suit for the Fusion with no less than four to select from, and that’s before you get to the hybrid and plug-in hybrids. The base engine is a normally aspirated 2.5-liter inline four, but the other three are all EcoBoost turbos. The crowning glory is therefore the 2.7-liter V-6 in the Fusion Sport with its 325 horsepower and 380 lb.-ft. of torque, which the Malibu just hasn’t got an answer to.

With four engines, including three efficient EcoBoost units, the 2017 Ford Fusion offers some good fuel economy ratings. The best numbers unsurprisingly come from the 1.5-liter EcoBoost, which is rated at 23 mpg in the city, 34 mpg on the highway and 27 mpg combined.

The 1.5 in the 2017 Chevrolet Malibu is also its fuel economy champion, but it could surprise some that it’s quite a bit better than its Ford equivalent. The Malibu therefore gets EPA-estimated figures as good as 27 mpg in the city, 36 mpg on the highway and 30 mpg combined, which really is impressive and a good deal better than the Fusion.

The Cruze underwent a complete redesign for 2016, and it’s now one of the most attractive cars in its class. It’s sleek, sporty, and modern now but without going too far down that futuristic road. You’ll have the option of a hatch as well as the sedan body style this year. Most of the time, a hatch version looks sportier than a sedan, but that’s not the case here as they’re both extremely attractive.

Guess what? The Honda Civic is now also available as a hatch, which has been added to the sedan and coupe body styles to give buyers quite a bit of choice. The Civic is a good-looking car in all three forms, although this latest redesign isn’t the most radical and it could easily be mistaken for a mid-cycle refresh. A relative lack of imagination on Honda’s part therefore hands this round to the Cruze.

Being longer and wider than many of its rivals translates into plenty of legroom for front and rear-seat passengers, giving the Cruze a good start for comfort and quality. As well as plenty of room, the seats are also impressively bolstered and very comfortable, especially in higher trim levels.

While the Cruze is bigger than many of its rivals in the segment, it’s not significantly bigger than the Civic, which means plenty of room for passengers and cargo inside the Honda. Obviously there are differences between the body styles when it comes to headroom in the rear seats, but on the whole there’s more than enough most of the time.

At the moment it’s a take-it or leave-it situation with the 2017 Chevrolet Cruze as there’s just one engine. The unit in question is a 1.4-liter turbo-four producing 153 horsepower, although sedan models will soon be available with a new turbodiesel and hatches will get it as an option for 2018. The current engine is capable and appropriate and the ride is very good indeed, but a more powerful option for those who want it would be welcomed.

The Civic’s base engine isn’t a turbo, but the 2.0-liter four-cylinder does offer very similar power and performance to the unit in the Cruze. However, the Civic can also be had with a turbo-four that develops as much as 180 horsepower in some variants, so this section has to go to the Honda.

The EPA rates the current 2017 Chevy Cruze at 30 mpg in the city, 40 mpg on the highway, and 34 mpg combined with the automatic transmission. These numbers are pretty good for an engine with none of those fancy eco settings that turn off all the stuff that makes you comfortable and slow you down.

Things are not quite as straightforward with the Honda Civic, though, as things like the 18-inch wheels and body kit on Civic Hatchback Sport models hurt fuel economy and produce different ratings. In its most standard form, though, the 2.0-liter inline-four mated to the six-speed manual transmission is rated at 28 mpg in the city, 40 mpg on the highway and 32 mpg combined. The Chevy’s fuel economy can be beaten by the Honda Civic if you go for the 1.5 turbo, but as the standard engine isn’t as frugal as the Chevy’s we’ll have to give this to the Cruze.

The Cruze was completely redesigned just last year, and it’s hard to overstate what a great job the designers did. It’s now sleek and thoroughly modern but without being polarizing, and with the choice of hatch and sedan body styles.Normally, a hatch is a little sportier than a sedan, but in this case they’re both extremely attractive.

A light restyling of the Focus was carried out a couple of years ago, and that has kept it looking fresh before the next all-new version that’s probably landing in 2018. The Focus is a very good-looking car, but the latest incarnation of the Cruze is even more attractive.

Having as much interior space for passengers and cargo as possible always helps with comfort, and the Cruze is so spacious it could be taken for a midsize. It’s longer and wider than many of its rivals, which translates into plenty of legroom for front and rear-seat passengers. But as well as plenty of room, the seats are also nicely bolstered for excellent comfort, especially at higher trim levels.

You’re okay if you’re in the front seats of the Focus, but larger adults won’t have a particularly great time in the back seats for anything more than a very short journey. The seats themselves are fairly comfortable though, and the design of the interior is modern and attractive. But the substantial amount of extra space gives this round firmly to the Cruze.

Although it’s a pretty lively 1.4-liter turbo producing 153 horsepower, the Cruze’s inline-four engine is the only powerplant available, at least for now. Sedan models will soon be available with a new turbodiesel and hatchbacks will get it next year. The engine is capable and appropriate and the ride is excellent, but it would be nice to have the option of something more powerful.

By way of total contrast, no less than four different engines are available with the Ford Focus: the standard 2.0-liter four-cylinder, a three-cylinder 1.0-liter EcoBoost, a 2.0-liter EcoBoost, and the awesome 2.3-liter EcoBoost in the performance RS model. Every engine is excellent and the sheer amount of choice means this section is an easy win for the Ford.

If you think the greater size and weight of the Chevrolet Cruze will make it a little heavy on gas, you couldn’t really be more wrong. The EPA rates the 2017 Cruze at 30 mpg in the city, 40 mpg on the highway and 34 mpg combined with the automatic transmission, which is pretty impressive.

Those numbers can be beaten by the Ford Focus, but only by upgrading from the standard 2.0-liter to the 1.0-liter three-cylinder EcoBoost, which limits the models available to you. The standard 2.0-liter found in the vast majority of models is rated at 26 mpg in the city, 38 mpg on the highway and 31 mpg combined, so we’ll call this one for the Cruze.