2004 Toyota Camry XLE, 2004 Chevrolet Malibu LT, 2004 Mitsubis

The family road trip hasn't evolved much in the past half century. True, traditional tourist destinations like Mount Rushmore and the Smithsonian are now routinely bypassed in favor of significant new landmarks like, say, MTV headquarters and the tattoo parlor where Angelina Jolie had her arm etched with "Billy Bob." But the family-vacation basics remain unchanged: You'll spend long hours droning down the Interstate; the minute you hit the mountains, little Timmy in the back seat is going to throw up; and, if you're lucky, at the end of the day you'll find a Polynesian-themed motel where the kids can swim amid flaming tiki torches while Mom and Dad defibrillate with a few medicinal mai tais.

What has changed, of course, is the conveyance you'll use along the way. In the 1960s, for instance, you were lucky if your vacation car had air-conditioning, a static-free FM radio, and some window tint so the hamburger balanced on your knee didn't leave tan lines. Which makes it all the more remarkable just how far today's family haulers have evolved. Of the four front-drive, midsize sedans pictured here, all come standard with automatic climate control, power windows and mirrors, keyless entry, cruise control, a CD player, and a trip computer. Three boast standard traction control. Two are available with XM Satellite Radio. Two offer talking DVD navigation systems. And all four are so well outfitted with standard protection devices (including anti-lock brakes and multiple airbags) that they're safer than most circa-1960s record albums.

Two of our players are established superstars. In fact, the Toyota Camry and the Honda Accord are the two best-selling cars in the United States, accounting for more than 800,000 annual sales between them. Numbers like those speak volumes about the quality and desirability of these two sedans; the public hungers for them as if they were fat-free fettuccine Alfredo. No major changes to the status quo for 2004: The Accord and Camry carry over with only minor updates.

This popular class is never static: For 2004, the reigning champs are faced with two significant, all-new challengers. Mitsubishi has completely revised its midsize Galant for 2004, adding more power, more room, and dramatic new styling inside and out. Also bidding to steal Camry and Accord sales is Chevrolet's new Malibu. Based on GM's "global" Epsilon platform (shared with the Saab 93, Opel Vectra, and the forthcoming Pontiac G6), the Malibu aims to lure buyers with the promise of solid driving dynamics, a spacious cabin, and exceptional value.

How do these four combatants match up? To find out, we headed to the track for instrumented tests, then cut loose on a two-day road trip. We used these four-doors as most families would: on the Interstate, in urban traffic, hauling luggage, eating on the run, hooking up child-safety seats, listening to CDs, and even playing a few rounds of "Name That Roadkill."

For this review, we sampled life at the top of the family-sedan food chain. Our test cars were all premium models with plenty of trimmings. While all four cars are available with four-cylinder engines, our testers all carried uplevel V-6 powerplants mated with automatic transmissions. Prices hovered around the sweet spot of the market, near the $26,000 out-the-door average for current new cars.

But enough of the scene-setting. Let the family feud begin.