Having driven each of those cars a few times now too, I can also say that the rankings don't surprise me. I would've placed the Fusion in 2nd since, although the Camry's surprisingly better dynamically than I had expected, the Ford is just the one car in the bunch that seems to have a bit of passion infused.
I also agree with Jonathan's sentiments about the Ecoboost being a bit noisier and coarser than the others. More distressing though is that there's no way anyone will likely ever see fuel economy anywhere near Ford's claims. The 1.6 needs to be caned to be fun and that makes it thirsty.
It's also interesting that driving any of these cars (well, except for maybe the Malibu) alone without the direct comparison to the competitors would show that each is a really great vehicle. It's really only when given an opportunity to compare them all together that the minute details emerge. The first time I drove the new Altima last fall by itself I was quite impressed by it. Then, driving it back to back with the rest of its competitors, the aloof steering and mooing CVT really became more obvious to me.
It was asked earlier what was so bad about the Malibu's interior. It just looks and feels 10 years older than the rest of the competitors. Mostly it's a stylistic thing -- silly-looking faux wood trim, squishy geezer seats, and poorly-chosen colours in the test car -- but nothing rattled or fell off while we drove them. The overall driving experience of the Malibu just feels a generation behind the rest.
Two other interesting things that occurred to me when being around all these cars: 1) all of them are 'domestics' now... EXCEPT for the Ford (the only one not built in USA). 2) From behind, the new Accord looks startlingly like a Genesis sedan with its tail light treatment. Is Honda copying Hyundai now? (that ought to ruffle some feathers).
