A perennial favorite, the Honda Civic, is new and better than ever. We love the wide range of bodystyles, engines, and equipment. Civic is a solid car that has good performance, a nice ride, and a high degree of civility. New last year was the Ford Focus. Though we loved almost everything about the Focus, we were reluctant to rank it a Best Buy because it was new from the ground up. After a year of living with a ZTS model, we can say that the reliability is good. Focus ranks a notch below Civic in some areas but costs less. Topping the crowded Recommended list are the Volkswagen Golf and Jetta. They easily could be Best Buys as they are better than the Civic in many ways. However, they are also the most expensive cars in this segment. Other Recommended choices include the no-frills Dodge Neon and Toyota Echo, the slightly-upscale Nissan Sentra, and the roomy Mazda Protege. If you are looking for a budget buy, the Hyundai Accent offers a lot for your dollar, however, it's not as refined as more-expensive competitors.

Daewoo Motor Company may be fighting for survival at home, but its U.S. branch has been doing very well lately, with total sales more than doubling year-over-year to nearly 68,400 in calendar 2000. That's not bad for a brand launched here barely three years ago, and it's a better performance than South Korean compatriots Kia and Hyundai turned in, though they're at 234,000 and 98,000, respectively. The entry-level Lanos helped Daewoo's cause, scoring some 22,000 sales for the 12 months, a stunning 136-percent gain over '99.

The South Korean parent company is still struggling to dig out from under a mountain of debt via an outright takeover, with General Motors now the only possible savior. Assuming Daewoo stays alive, Lanos should be redesigned for model-year 2003. Not much is known about the new model so far, but we'd expect it to be a little larger, with an engine to match, so as to compete more directly with Hyundai's Accent and other entry-level small cars.

Meantime, this year's Lanos Sport hatchback is apparently a limited edition. Daeoo recently announced that U.S. sales of this model are being capped at just 2000. No word yet on whether there will be any more for 2002.