Ask five different people what defines a sport compact car and you'll get five different answers. Look it up on Wikipedia, the everyman's encyclopedia known for its everyman definitions and you get this: "a high-performance version of a compact car...often compromising cargo space, seating, gas mileage, drivability and reliability."
Here's the three-word definition we like: small, sporting, inexpensive. And because these cars are frequently the only transportation their owners have, reality says we should add a fourth: practical.
This test is performed in that spirit. That is, find the best small, sporting, inexpensive and practical car sold in the U.S. today. We narrowed the field to six that we feel are genuine contenders: the 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt SS Supercharged, 2006 Honda Civic Si, 2007 Mazda Mazdaspeed 3, 2006 Mini Cooper S, 2006 Subaru WRX and 2006 Volkswagen GTI.
Too lazy to read it? Here are the results...
1. 2007 Mazdaspeed 3
- "The best performance, practicality, and style of any sport compact."
(0-60 = 5.9 Sec)
2. 2006 Subaru WRX TR
- "Any road speed, all-weather practicality and four doors."
(0-60 = 5.9 Sec)
3. 2006 Honda Civic Si
- "Precise and confident, but must be wrung out to be quick."
(0-60 = 7.5 Sec)
4. 2006 Mini Cooper S
- "The best and worst of small car handling and usability in one gorgeous package."
(0-60 = 7.4 Sec)
5. 2006 Volkswagen GTI
- "A strong daily driver that lacks the leader's performance."
(0-60 = 7.2 Sec)
6. 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt SS Supercharged
- "Impressive performance hamstrung with subpar quality and practicality."
(0-60 = 7.1 Sec)
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