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.

Accent was Hyundai's second most popular U.S. offering in 2000, after larger sister Elantra. It sells in modest numbers for an entry-level small car, but the numbers keep climbing. Last year's total of some 67,000 represented a near 62-percent gain from the previous 12-month figure, which itself was almost double the model's 1998 volume.

No major changes are in store for Accent before its scheduled 2004-model redesign. This will also be the basis for the next-generation Rio subcompact at Hyundai-owned Kia. Hard facts are practically non-existent now, but each version will have its own styling, with Accent probably more expressive than Rio, as well as a bit more upscale in features and maybe power.