Should I buy Malibu or Sebring or Sonata?

Hi,

I have a question for you. I wonder what do you think. I would like to buy a new vehicle or a 1 year old used one. I test drove many cars and I came up with top 3 possible cars. I like 4 door sedans that are bigger cars since I got a Chrysler Concorde V6 leather with wood grain that is 210 inch long! So I need a car for 3-5 years that has some luxury and ample sporty power if I need some. Here is my current car: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/comm...er_Concorde.jpg

So I test drove almost all of the available mid and full size sedans in my price segment except Hyundai Sonata, Azera, Ford Fusion.(I cannot buy BMW, Mercedes, Acura, Lexus, Lincoln, Cadillac, Ford Fusion 2010 or Buick Lacrosse CSX)

What I am looking for is luxury interior look in some extend but sporty engine and soft suspension like a luxury car. It does not have to have real wood grain though.

My top 3 choice would be :
1, Chrysler Sebring Limited 3.5L V6 (I like to look but little bit concerned about the reliability)
2, Hyundai Sonata Limited V6 or Azera Limited V6. (The interior looked real upscale and the exterior is also okay but not that good as the Sebring)
3, Chevrolet Malibu LTZ 3.6 V6. It was nice to drive but something was missing for me. Something that would make that car exceptional for me. Exterior looks nice expect the back of the car. Rear visibility was horrible though.

I test drove the Toyota Camry V6, Nissan Altima V6, Honda Accord V6 but they cost more than they would worth in my opinion in addition American cars have nicer exterior than those in general. Pontiac G6 GT has poor interior (no luxury look), G8 GT was thrilling (V8 with 361 hp!!) but too expensive and again not too luxury looking interior although it is super sporty. Dodge Charger looks aggressive but the interior is poor looking. The Mitsubishi Galant is ugly. I do not like the Saturn Aura (copy of Malibu) and I am not fan of Mercury Milan either (downgraded Fusion for me)

The question is Do you think I should try buying a Malibu?? I am concerned about the long term reliability. Hyundai has improved a lot since 2006 and now it can compete with mainstream brands. Also when I testdrove the Malibu the dealer guy told me that the shifters on the wheel are not designed to drive the car in manual mode for a long time? I was like wtf?!? Is that true?

So could you drop me some lines what do you think?