Best compact car?
 

What do you think is the best compact car in the market right now??

don't just look at pure performance or pure looks.. it's gotta have a blend of performance, looks, craftsmanship, etc.

i think the RSX Type S is pretty good - but i might be a bit biased. ;)

It really depends on what kind of money your willing to spend.

No doubt the Merc c230 or other compact cars are gonne be better than, say, your Geo's or Hyundais.

As far as best performance, looks, etc, for the money...id probably hafta lean toward the Mazda 3. Putting pretty good power for its size/weight. Good gas mileage, Low cost (insurance too probably). Reasonably versatile, and while Mazdas aren't teh best craftsmanship out there, they tend to last a good long while.

For its price, i think it is the best deal atm. I think the Mini Copper would probably be right behind, but i dont like its looks personally.

oh i might have to agree with u on that.. it's really good bang for the buck. It's stylish and you get some things with that car you don't get on other imports like projector headlights, 17inch rims, etc..

Lotus Exige

http://www.fast-autos.net/lotus/05exige.jpg

but i guess it isn't on sale in the US quite yet... but soon!

damn that lotus is badass

I gotta go w/ a Mini. Pretty decent power and amazing handling, and a great unique look. Need i say more.

wow that lotus does look amazing.. what's the price on one of those?

look for it to be about $39,000.

a *little* pricey for a sport-compact, but it's a mid-engined RWD car with 190 hp and only weighs about 1975lbs (that's only 10 lbs per 1 hp, pretty good) it's definately compact, only 149.0" long and 67.7" wide

the engine is, in essence (tweaked by Lotus), the 1.8L I-4 from the Celica GT-S

it should 0-60 in under 5 seconds and run the 1/4 mile around 12 seconds

the handling is amazing too, down to the custom tires from Yokohama (exclusive to the Exige)

should be available in the US this spring, but only 3000 will be made the first year.

Sorry, but the Elise is the only one coming over for now IIRC. The Exige is remaining a strictly Euro car.

dang it, you're right. i didn't even catch the name... what's the difference between the 2 cars?

(p.s. all my info about the car is about the Elise, i just didn't pay attention to the name)

That Lotus is pretty awesome. I wish we had more in the States. I've only seen one that lives down the street from my house, and he's kept under a cover most of the time :(.

period point blank I would say the WRX........amazing performance, handling, and decent gas mileage, along with being suitable for adverse conditions.........not too expensive for what you get, and it has a badass interior

WRX
3-Series Bimmer
Celica
RSX
SRT-4
Mazdaspeed Protege
Sentra SE-R Spec V

Take your pick. There are tons of options. Be sure to get a new one so there will be plenty for me to pick up cheap in a few years. My Geo Prizm will have to do for now. It's sporty when I'm driving.

the WRX isn't really a "compact" car.

you think the interior looks badass?

i think it looks poorly designed with cheap materials..

Someone's never sat in the back seat of an Impreza.

you cant just judge from the backseat...hell, the legacy wagon has the backseat of a compact car...as do most midsize sedans, and small/midsize SUVs.

A compact car does not have four doors. A wrx does, therefore is not a compact car. End of story.

I drive a Geo Prizm. It's in the subcompact class. That means smaller than a compact. And wow, it has 4 doors. The Impreza is barely bigger than my car.

WRX = Compact

Stare At The Sun, compact dosen't have to be leass than 2 doors, buy a "Sports Compact" mag, i bet you any amount of money you like that theres a 4 door in there....... the staring at the sun must gave you brain dmg = D

MK IV VW GTI 1.8T, their inexpensive($15,000), fast (180hp), and respond very well to bolt on & turbo modifications.

The New Cavailer 2003 and up!

you've gotta be fuckin shittin me they look cross-eyed and its a freakin Cavalier, wait till my website is up and running you'll love it, it's all about hating Cavaliers and Sunfires fuck I hate those things.

does anyone else think that cavaliers look sad? i don't mean sad looking as in ugly but sas as in emotionally sad.. it you look at the headlights they look all droopy and sad.. i dunno - that was my first thought when i saw the new cav..

The new ECOTEC engine isn't sad. Pretty freaking awesome potential. Especially with GM putting out a supercharger for it.

oh boy we'll have another SRT-4 on our hands a piece of shit on wheels.

Yeah I've noticed that too it's like they got punched between the headlights and they swelled even the malibu looks cross-eyed, and I also think they are ugly if you couldn't tell.

the SRT-4 isn't a POS. It's fast and handles well. If not for the baket handle spoiler and the scoop then it's the best stock sleeper ever.

the srt 4 is really pretty nice. i am a v8 guy and don't like many 4bangers but the dodge srt4 is pretty much the best bang for the buck. its ugly yes but the performance of the engine is amazing, especially with a few bolt on parts. you can be in the 12s with for under 25000.

The Exige IIRC is a basically race version of the Elise. No targa, just a solid roof, some aerodynamic effects including the wing and underbody stuff. Very much a race car for the road.

As for the VW Gold 1.8T, they're great little cars, but the 1.8's can't handle much. You can chip them over 220 pretty easily but the tiny turbo'll give you less than a year at that.

SRT-4 is secks on wheels. It's a new muscle car IMHO, underrated in power, started out as an economy/family car, still looks decently stock. I love it!

it is still a Neon maybe if they actually made the effort to change the exterior and make it not look like a Neon naw I still wouldn't like it because time will tell how well it will do, it can have all the bells and whistles it wants it still hasn't shed it's neon look, maybe they can come out with an Expresso SRT-4 that would be funny ass shit

If im not mistaken, and i very well might be, the SRT4 and the regular neon share very little in common. Yes, they do look similar, and they are both Dodge, but last i heard they are almost more different than they are similar.

They are also stopping production of that car... Gotta wonder at the quality if they took the time to completly engineer a new car to take its place in the chevy line...

For a cheap buck... I just got a brand new civic. I mean, its not gunna go a million miles an hour, but 35+ mpg is nice...

Techs Lotus is my pick :P

Love the new Civic good choice, it's about time they kiboshed the Cavalier it's been around long enough there is only so long people will put up with shoody workmanship.