In this age of sport bucket seats, well-stocked center consoles, and passenger-swallowing minivans, the six-seater sedan is a scarce breed. Today’s selection pales in comparison with the genre’s heyday of yore when sedans were sedans, ready to carry an entire family reunion, along with a year’s worth of luggage, anywhere the sweeping chrome grille and queen-bed-size hood was pointed (as long as the 8-mpg V-8 underneath was kept fed).
Today’s six seaters may not match those behemoths in sheer girth, but in terms of safety, efficiency, reliability, and creature comforts, yesterday’s sedans can’t hold a 10-watt bulb to today’s lot. To judge the current large six-seater sedans, we’ve gathered a sampling that shows the eclectic mix available. Included are the Buick Roadmaster Limited, Chrysler New Yorker, Mercury Grand Marquis LS,…