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.

After running essentially flat in calendar 2000, Impreza sales soared 72 percent year-to-year in the first nine months of 2001. The redesigned 2002s arrived too late to be much of a factor, making this sizeable increase even more--dare we say it?--impressive.

Though the WRX has been the most talked-about new Impreza, Subaru has an even hotter competition special on the shelf. This is the 280-hp STi Impreza Turbo, named for and developed by Subaru Technica International, the company's Japan-based in-house performance division. Will the STi come Stateside? One respected industry trade paper says it's on the way for 2004. Otherwise, and not counting minor interim changes, Impreza's basic design will stand pat through at least model-year 2006.