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.

A new-generation Impreza is being prepped for the 2002 model year. Details are sketchy yet, but spy photographers who've snapped prototypes undergoing tests say body width has been increased by a couple of inches; overall length and wheelbase appear little changed. We expect models and powertrains to follow the current pattern except that the base 2.2-liter engine may be scratched.

Some of our spies think Subaru will use the redesign to offer a hot turbocharged Impreza for the first time in America, though it may not be as torrid as the various Japanese and European models patterned on the World Rally Championship-winning Imprezas. Up to now, Subaru's U.S. arm has resisted selling any such high-tune turbo models (which include Legacys) because of durability and cost concerns, as well as compatibility with higher-sulphur U.S. fuel. Assuming Subaru takes the plunge, we'd look for at least 250 horsepower in an ultra-sporty Impreza coupe and possibly a sedan and/or wagon. Any or all will likely be limited editions marketed as street-racer material along the lines of the Honda Civic Si coupe. That's mainly because NASCAR-crazy America scarcely knows or cares about World Rally competition.

But why try a pumped-up Impreza at all? To improve the model's street buzz among younger buyers. Besides, Impreza needs some pumping up sales-wise. Year-to-year demand was basically flat in calendar 1999, and with total volume of just under 20,000 units, this Subaru is small potatoes compared to small-car popularity champs Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla.