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 one of America's favorite subcompacts, Corolla slipped behind Honda Civic and Ford Focus in calendar-2000 sales, losing 7.6 percent to just over 230,000. Deliveries slipped further in 2001, but by less than 1 percent through the end of September, a very good showing in a newly troubled economy and uncertain national climate.

Earlier reports said Corolla would be dropped entirely after 2002, but what they really meant was that the current model would step aside for a redesigned replacement. Sure enough, it bows in February as an early 2003 debut on a fresh platform that also serves Toyota's new Matrix "sport wagon". From what we can discern, the '03 Corolla will follow Toyota's current design approach, as seen in the full-size Avalon and 2002 Camry, becoming slightly taller on a longer wheelbase for more interior room. Overall length and width should be little changed. So, too, the basic 1.8-liter 4-cyl engine, though horsepower should rise by 5 to 130. We'd also expect today's old-fashioned 3-speed automatic to be replaced by a 4-speed option to make Corolla more competitive with class rivals in this respect. We also think there's an outside chance of an optional continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT, similar to that in the hybrid-power Prius, though perhaps not before 2004 or '05.