A perennial favorite, the Honda Civic, is as good as 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. We also love almost everything about the Ford Focus, but 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. However, they are among the most expensive cars in this segment. Other Recommended choices include the no-frills Toyota Echo, the sporty Nissan Sentra, and the roomy Mazda Protege.

Though still a bit early to divine firm sales trends, Mitsubishi's newest small sedan made a decent start in its first few weeks on the U.S. market, attracting nearly 6500 buyers as of September 30, 2001. Being freshly minted, Lancer won't see any fundamental change for the next several years.

However, the big buzz over Subaru's Impreza WRX may prompt Mitsubishi to bring over a road-going rally car of its own, the Lancer Evolution VII. Already available in Japan and Europe, the "Evo", like the WRX, is a mass-market sedan turned into a genuine road burner with the addition all-wheel drive, a high-power turbocharged 4-cyl engine, handling-oriented suspension, big wheels and tires, and enough racy styling add-ons inside and out to satisfy even the most extroverted of high-schoolers. A U.S. version could be readied fairly fast, but it's unclear whether Mitsubishi's American branch is even considering the idea.

In other markets, the Evo VII (there have been six previous models) packs some 280 hp and does 0-60 mph in only about 5 sec. A U.S. version might need mild detuning to pass noise and emissions standards, but could still challenge BMW's pricey hot-rod M3 for performance. Mitsubishi and Subaru are perennial rivals in World Rally Championship competition and as builders of the ultimate affordable "sport compact." Subaru has now taken the fight to U.S. streets, so it's up to Mitsubishi to follow if it wants to. We'll let you know if anything breaks.